What I've Been Reading--November

Sad to say, we didn't read as much as we would have liked in November, but this is what we read: I read The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White aloud to the girls.  I had never read it before, but we really enjoyed Charlotte's Web and this book came with the humungous bag of books that we bought at the Symphony Book Fair several months ago.  (Actually, it was already on our list of read-alouds for the year anyways!)  This is a wonderful story about a very unusual trumpeter swan, Louis. Louis was born with a defect: no voice!  E.B. White details a wonderful account of how this mute swan overcomes his defect in some very extraordinary ways.  This was truly a delightful read!

Sea Star Orphan of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry is a sequel to Misty of Chincoteague, which we read last month.  In this story, Paul and Maureen decide to sell Misty to some movie producers from New York so that their uncle can go to college.  Amidst their sadness, they find a feisty colt whose mother died in this year's Pony Penning.  Sea Star finds a home in Misty's empty stall.  There is both difficulty and disagreement over how to get the spindly colt to eat, but all comes to a beautiful conclusion!  This was a very enjoyable book to read!


Continuing with my Dave Ramsey streak, I read More Than Enough: Proven Keys to Strengthening Your Family and Building Financial Peace.  I think the keys outlined in this book can be applied not only to financial freedom but also to other areas of life as well.  Ramsey encourages you to have a vision, set goals, break them down into bite-size pieces, and work hard to achieve them.  We can't achieve our goals by being lazy!  We must work...hard!  Two aspects of this book that I really liked were (1) true contentment can be found in God alone, not in wealth or health or achieving a goal or anything else and (2) we find joy in giving and serving others!

Born to Trot is another wonderful book written by Marguerite Henry.  Gibson White is the son of a horse trainer and driver and wants more than anything to race trotters.  However, he is hospitalized because his body has been overtaxed between his duties with the horses and the many sports that he plays.  Gibson's recovery is slow until his father gives him the new filly, whom he names Rosalind.  Intertwined with the story of Gibson's recovery and overseeing of Rosalind's training is another story, a book about the first Hambletonian, which Ben's doctor gave him to read.  Not only does Rosalind go on to win the Hambletonian, she wins seven world championships and becomes known as the Queen of Trotters!  This was a very exciting and interesting story (stories, actually) to read!

 Victory in Jesus by P.G. Mathew is a commentary on the book of Joshua.  The sermons contained in this book were preached at Grace Valley Christian Center between January and May 2005.  What I love about P.G. Mathew's preaching is that he preaches the text.  Then, he shows how the text points us to Christ.  This book is filled with practical application, too.  We don't want to read and study the Bible just to gain head knowledge, but we want to learn from it how God wants us to live.

I love this quote from the conclusion: "Victory is in Jesus, and God's people today have battles to fight, just like Joshua of old.  Our enemies are not flesh and blood, but spiritual enemies, including sin and Satan, who daily tempt and try to deceive us.  This warfare will continue until Christ's climactic return. We must know and obey God's word, seek his will in every situation, and exhort and help one another.  We can take great encouragement in the fact that we will win because our triune God wins!"