December Reading 2016

This month I was able to do a little bit more reading due to a lot of babysitting and illness.  For my fiction reading I read light Christmas romance.  My non-fiction books were two books that I started at some point and set aside.    

Last month I read Winter Stroll which was part two in the series so I read Winter Street and Winter Storms which were part 1 and 3. Both stories were very predictable and fun to read.  I would give them both 3 stars.  

I also read Christmas in Paris which I would have to say the same about, predictable and fun to read.  There were times when I wanted to scream at the main character, Isabel,  she seemed very unrealistic to me.  Again I would rate this book 3 stars.  


Rest Assured and Present Over Perfect are both books that were recommended on a blog some where.  They both appealed to me in my efforts to slow down my life! HA HA!  Below are my take aways from the books.

Rest Assured
Do not judge your worth and value by how busy you are.  "Busyness is not a badge of honor.  It is a cry of a burned-out soul that desperately need relief and rest."  When your calendar is constantly "overbooked that indicates an imbalance, not importance."

That is how I have been living my life for so long maybe forever.  I have been working non stop seven days a week on housework and school work and never a moment to rest.  However that is not how I want to live.  I want to have lots of time to spend with my grandchildren and children.  I loved this quote from the book, "God gave us Sundays to breathe."  I want to be able to have Sundays free to read and have a family day.  You need to "allow margin in your life for the unexpected otherwise you will rush through your whole life without enjoying it."  I have been so busy running around until the last minute of the day trying to get everything done that I rarely notice what happened each day.  The days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months and then years and yes......I have have rushed through my life so far.  



Present over Prefect

My health is suffering I need to stop right not and remake my life from the inside to the outside. Was what I took away from this book!
This is a journey of self love and worth  and taking responsibility for meeting your own needs.  No one else is going to do this for you...you are responsible for you.  I need to begin "the daily, unglamorous work of rebuilding"  myself.  

No more pushing and rushing ... more is not better. Less is Better...Less stress, less eating, less noise, less rushing around and trying to do everything and be everything for everybody, Less TV/electronics.

Determine what kinds of technology enrich your life and help you stay connected to your loved ones and let the rest go.

"You will always regret something.  You will always disappoint someone.  But it isn't going to be my husband and our children" and myself.