The One Year Chronological Bible NIV

I wanted to see how long it would take to read through the Bible if I took every free minute I could to read! So, it took me 21 days, 6 hours, and 19 minutes. 

I never get tired of reading through the Bible.

This is maybe my 15th time through, but I'm not sure.

The Women by Kristen Hannah

I can totally see why this was the 2024 best novel of the year on Goodreads. I think I am about the same age as this author (yes, just looked it up - I am a year older), and the main character is from the beaches of Southern California (I was Manhattan, and she was Coranado Island in Sand Diego). 

I sobbed at the end. It is so well-written and so sad! Vietnam was such a horrible war, and why did we get involved?  

I have also been to the Vietnam War Memorial and sobbed the whole early morning I spent there by myself before the summer crowds came. 

I highly recommend this book. It begs to be made into a movie. 

2025 Reading Wrap Up

My Year in Books Here

· How many books did you read and did you meet your own personal goal?  

My personal goal was 52 books, but I read 85.

My other personal goal was to get to over 500 in the 1000 Books to Read Before You Die. I made it to 506 (509 on my list because List Challenge omits some) and decided to quit. I am top of the List Challenge List. I found many of the books pretty depressing this last year. So, I decided to read spiritually enriching books for the end of this year. I also found some new novels and memoirs that I enjoyed more than the "men leading lives of quiet desperation" ones in the 1000 Books List. I started it in 2019, but I have other things I would like to read now. 

· Most thrilling, oh my goodness, I want to read it again, unputdownable book?

I don't know if I would say "thrilling," but Living in Christ's Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God by Dallas Willard is one of my favorite books and is the transcript of a conference Dallas did 77 days before he died.

· Top 5 favorite books (old and new)?

1. Living in Christ's Presence (old)

2. My Friends (Goodreads best novel of 2025)

3. Within This Wilderness

4. God's Voice Within (old)

5. The Invention of Nature

· Least favorite book? 

QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter - It was like reading Japanese. I didn't get it!

Something Happened - YUK!

· New author discovery? 

Let God: Spiritual Conversations with Francois Fenelon - I loved what Fenelon had to say!

· What countries or centuries did you explore?

Polynesia, Italy (Naples in more than one book), England (oppression of free speech country), New England (Kennedys and Abigail Adams), Hebrides (on the west coast of Scotland), Antarctica, 1865 Civil War, Sargasso Sea, New York (lots of books were there), Australia, Germany, Russia (1902-World War II), France, Waterloo, all over America, Canadian Coastal Range, Japan, Dominican Republic, New Mexico, Nevada, fictional Central Europe, California

· Share a favorite character, story, quote or cover 

My Friends - the story and cover

· One book that touched you – (I changed it to one book for each category!)

My Friends - friendship love

Into This Wilderness - a mother's love for her son

· Are you ready to do it all over again?

Yes, I feel free from my 1000 Books list now.

           

· Do you have any goals to check out different genres or authors, read translated books or stories in another language for 2026?  

No

Here is the link to my list with brief comments on each book:

2025 Books

The Imitation of Christ

This is a classic that I had never gotten around to reading! So, I have now read it. I liked it, for the most part. I had many things I stopped and pondered. I didn't like the "you are a miserable sinner" part (Book 3, Chapter 55? I think). I noticed he didn't have a lot of verses to back that chapter up. The rest of the book was lovely.

Saturday Freewrite - Christmas and Looking at 2025 through God's Eyes

Lord Jesus, right from the moment of Your birth,

You lived with both the little and the great.

You charmed and challenged and won them all.

Lord, let me feel Your charismatic warmth,

That tremendous welcoming grace that made the simple love You

And their leaders seek You in the night.

Teach me to rest easy where You are,

Easy as hairy shepherd and smooth-shaven savant,

Easy as Mary who bore You gently,

Easy as Joseph who held You, your abba!

Accept the homage of my heart

Along with the shepherds’ adoring gaze

And the gifts of worshipful kings.[1]

So, I am going to write my 750 words for the day here. I usually write on Penzu.com now, but I was in the mood to write here instead. 

This poem is quoted at the end of Week 15 of the manual I wrote guiding people through the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola called Exercises for Everyone. I had such a beautiful time in Weeks 12-15 meditating on the prophecies (Jesus' family history) and activities leading up to Jesus' birth. This poem is at the conclusion of it all. I love that. On Christmas morning, I spent a lot of time in what Ignatius calls the "Application of Senses" to the scenes of the Incarnation (Ignatius' imagining of what it might have been like in heaven), Annunciation, Visitation, and Nativity. It was a lovely experience and hard to put into words.

I followed that with listening deeply to Handel's Messiah.  So moving since it is all Scripture. 

Now, Week 15, Day 7 is a day to "Gather the Graces" of Weeks 10-15. I did this yesterday. I look at all the "graces" I have prayed for during those weeks:

I seek the grace to. . .

• Respond to Jesus’ invitation of love in my life.
• Not be deaf to Christ’s call but prompt and diligent to accomplish his most holy will.
• Understand God’s perfect plan from Creation to Christ’s Incarnation.
• Have an intimate knowledge of the Lord who became human for me.
• Enter into the mind of the One who chose to be born as I was born. I ask to love this little infant so that my life will fall into his life’s pattern.

Then I did a yearly Examen. I have unlimited usage of a The Great Annual Examen and have sent it to friends and people in the three groups I lead through the Exercises. Someday, I will write my own, but I have been adapting it with the Year Compass that has you draw pictures and ponder some things that The Great Annual Examen does not. One of my directees, not knowing what I was thinking, said I should write my own and lead people through a retreat on the subject. That would be fun. 

I feel like I have more and more bandwidth for something like that. We will see. 

I went for a retreat at Mt. Angel Abbey from November 21-23rd. So, I was able to get through most of my Great Annual Examen during that retreat. and the week of Thanksgiving. The directees I am meeting with have greatly reduced during this time. I have loved the extra time. The directees I have are solid and lovely. Less is MORE!! I love listening to their lives. 

What a difference from last year where I was hoping things would slow down the week of Thanksgiving, but the time from Monday before Thanksgiving to December 17th was full of a friend's visits to the hospital and having that person stay with us after discharge. It was crazy and definitely added more activity to our holiday season. 

This is a shorter version to pray an Examen for the year that I wrote for my manual:

If you are following the liturgical year, it is the end of the year. This is great time to pray through an Examen of the past year and look to the year ahead. You might want to schedule a day of prayer to pray through this.

1. Light – Ask God to shed light on your year to see it through his eyes.

2. Gratitude – Recall two to three top highlights of your year and give him thanks. These are the first two or three things that immediately surface in your heart and mind. You will have more time of gratitude. This is just to light the flame of gratitude in your heart before reviewing the year.

3. Replay the Year and Pay Attention to Feelings – Look through your year with a calendar handy. Pay attention to where you sensed God’s presence and where you might have ignored it. Do this by noting…

·       Consolations – When were times this year when you especially turned toward and felt the life-giving light of God’s presence? (peace, contentment, happiness, joy) Feel free to relive these moments with all of your senses. Also, this may lead you into expressions of gratitude to God. (You’ll also have a time to do this toward the end of the Examen.)

·  Desolations – When were times this year when you especially turned away from and felt the absence of God’s light and presence? (distress, discontentment, disconnectedness, sadness, depression, anxiety, fear) This might lead you into a time of confession and conversation with God. (This isn't in my manual, but over the years, I have learned to make two columns on my paper with consolations on the left and desolations on the right. I go month by month through the year. You can just write top two or three, but the comparisons between the left and the right columns have been helpful for me in so many ways!)

4. Breakthroughs – What were the significant breakthroughs spiritually, emotionally, relationally, vocationally, and physically this year?

5. Summary Words – Think of one word to sum up your year in each area: spiritually, emotionally, relationally, vocationally, and physically.

6. One Word – If you had one word (or phrase) to sum up your year overall, what would it be?

7. Desires – What desires did God stir in your heart through the experiences of this last year?

8. Prayer of Gratitude – Dwell on those times of consolation and offer a prayer of gratefulness.

9. Prayer for Next Year - Talk to him about your year ahead. Invite him to lead and guide you through it. Maybe he has a word for next year. Have a conversation and don’t forget to listen.

---

[1] Choosing Christ in the World, p. 53

At the Master's Feet

From Christian Classics Ethereal Library:

At the young age of fifteen, Sundar Singh received a vision of Christ and converted from his native Sikhism to Christianity. After his conversion, he became a sadhu--an ascetic or holy man--and for the next twenty-five years, until his death, he preached the gospel. At the Master's Feet is a remarkable collection of Sundar Singh's visions from God, organized in a dialogue between the "Disciple" (Sundar Singh) and the "Master" (God). He includes in this uncomplicated dialogue profound teachings revealed to him from God. These teachings focus on the important practical aspects of Christianity--sin, salvation, prayer, service, etc.--rather than obscure or arcane theological discussions. Truly inspirational, At the Master's Feet reflects the depth of Sadhu Sundar Singh's dedication, and can encourage such dedication in all of its readers.

This is a solidly biblical work. The Enhanced Version has all the Scripture references. It is in the Renovare Book Club for 2025-2026

A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life

I had read Let Your Life Speak by the same author in September 2024. I have seen this book quoted in other works. It did not disappoint! 

It is about the SOUL and community being a part of the SOUL emerging. I love how he fleshed out how a Quaker "Clearness Committee" works. I would love to have a group that does it. 

There is a DVD with the book. I hope to watch it in the new year. 

I gave it 4 1/2 stars on Library Thing because I didn't particularly like him pontificating at the end about his Quaker pacifism. It was sort of antithetical to the "soul opening" way a Clearness Committee works - accepting, non-judgmental, and not giving opinions. It closed me up a bit (because without the great wars fought, we might all be speaking German [Japanese] right now), but not too much.

Overall, loved this book and glad I finally read it.

The Book of Sheen: A Memoir

Who doesn't remember his "winning" meltdowns? This is the behind the scenes look at what was happening during that time.

He is honest and open and clean and sober. Such an interesting look into his life. I couldn't put it down.

I have respect for his mom and dad. The Estevez-Sheen household was an intact one, and they did their best to keep the family together despite all the location work that Martin Sheen had to do. 

I am glad he is recovering. 

How to Hear God: A Simple Guide for Normal People

This is my second time through this book. Here is my review of the last time I read it:

How to Heart God: A Simple Guide or Normal People (Or Dallas or Dummies)

I truly love Pete's writing style. So down-to-earth and engaging.

I think I liked it even more the second time around!

As once the winged energy of delight by Rainer Maria Rilke

As once the winged energy of delight

by Rainer Maria Rilke

English version by Stephen Mitchell
Original Language German

As once the winged energy of delight
carried you over childhood's dark abysses,
now beyond your own life build the great
arch of unimagined bridges.

Wonders happen if we can succeed
in passing through the harshest danger;
but only in a bright and purely granted
achievement can we realize the wonder.

To work with Things in the indescribable
relationship is not too hard for us;
the pattern grows more intricate and subtle,
and being swept along is not enough.

Take your practiced powers and stretch them out
until they span the chasm between two
contradictions... For the god
wants to know himself in you.

Sister Wife

Christine has been through it! It was nice to hear her first-person account of life in a polygamous marriage. I think it is a terrible thing, and it was interesting to hear that it really is! 

You know that she was oppressed as a wife when he blew his cool in the "knife to the kidneys" episode. I would have spoken up, but she was just done and tired!

I am so glad she is happy and FREE!

Landscapes of the Soul

This is a wonderfully deep dive into attachment. I loved. It also has some lovely application.

Shout out to the author who let me read a draft copy so that I could determine whether or not I would us it in the spiritual direction training I will be doing in the future. 

Highly recommend if you want a deep dive. 

Gay Girl, Good God

I had seen this woman talk about her book on Instagram. So, I was intrigued. It is a short and articulate story about how she got involved in homosexuality and how she came out of it. 

She is honest and articulate. It is a worthy read.