3. The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Riso and Hudson

I put this book on my "shelf" on Goodreads on November 18, 2012! I have been exposed to the Enneagram since 2011, but I had to read the "gateway drug" books like The Road Back to You first to get into the heavier material. 

I am so glad I finally got around to reading this. I kept checking it out of the library with no hope of ever getting through its almost 400 pages. I finally ordered my own copy, and I am so glad I did. I underlined so much and wrote a lot of notes in the margin. I would say this is the most comprehensive book of any of the Enneagram books I have read so far. What finally pushed me over the edge to read it was taking a 10 Week class from Russ Hudson with a live Q & A at the end. I was so IMPRESSED by this warm and generous soul that I had to read the book. I also wanted to read it because I get daily EnneaThoughts in my email, and they are often quotes from this book.

It is so comprehensive. It is not Christian because they wrote it for all faiths, but Don Richard Riso was a Jesuit priest, and you see Ignatian Spirituality coming through everywhere in the book even though there are quotes from all the different faith traditions. That might turn a really conservative believer off, but now that I took this class from Russ, I felt great about reading it. I heartily recommend this book for someone who really wants to delve deeply into this subject. 

Freewrite Fifteen on a Wednesday Afternoon

After a gloomy and rain-filled morning, the sun is setting in the west and streaming through silver clouds and my French doors to sunlight on the table in which I write this. There is a touch of God in this moment that I wanted to write about. I am at peace. Much of my life lately has been an attempt at "presence." I read The Practice of the Presence of God in my 20s, and there have been such glimpse of that glory throughout my life. But lately, I see my part more and more in the equation. He is always present, but I am more and more able to bring my presence as well. To bring all of me in that moment.  It is hard to even write about it now because it has been lasting through the freewrite. So often I could try to capture this in writing, but once the mechanics of the writing started the moment was lost, and I would have to speak of it in past tense, but the sun continues to stream through the  window, and I am continuing to bring that presence to Him as He continues to stream His presence to me. 

I have benefitted so much lately from teachers who have modeled and encouraged this in me. They have said, "Don't bring the past into your thinking or have worry or fear into the future. Just BE in the present moment." I realize much of my mind is occupied with the past and the future. There was something that I did recently, that I would have gone into with fear, but I just enjoyed the moment of safety even as I walked up the steps for a potentially difficult conversation. Part of my preparation for things can be fear. So I walked up prepared but not fearful. It was not the greatest conversation and it even made me feel a bit sad, but I felt God's presence, and I heard him whisper to "Let it go and pray." I walked away safe and peaceful. There is enough love to go around for that person, but I am not the person to walk with them through it. I am not responsible for the outcome either.

So I am encouraged. I am encouraged to see growth in my life lately that I have never seen before. New growth in God's original design and desires for me. And it is so fun. It is so full of sun. I am capturing it in my heart as I type. It continues to stay with me through the freewrite. Oh there is such joy in this journey. No doubt about it. Loving life in this very moment. 

2. Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero

After seeing the new Amazon mini-series on this novel, I was inspired to listen to it. Thirty hours of listening later (the last 5.5 hours straight because it is due at 10:23 pm tonight), I am impressed. What a great book! I wonder why it is not on Top 100 Lists. It is good. I am very familiar with this narrator as he read the last tome to me (Les Miserables). Poor Becky Sharp! 

I am determined to read more fiction this year than last, and I am really hoping to read more classics too. 

1. Glittering Vices

I finished this several weeks ago, but I am just getting around to writing about it. It was slow going at first. It has a history of the desert fathers that was pretty long and drawn out. I did like it once she got to the Seven Deadly Sins. Her definitions were helpful. I especially liked that I did it with the Renovare Book Club. The author did podcasts, including a Q and A and study guide questions. That added to my enjoyment of it. I discussed  it with a group of thoughtful women, committed to growth last week. That is helpful too. 

This is my 8th year of doing 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge. Come on along and join me!

(Wow, just noticed that 16 of the books I read last year were rereads!)