What I've Been Reading--January

My in-laws gave Good to Great by Jim Collins to my husband some time ago.  Again, my husband questioned my choice of reading material.  The truth is that I have seen this book referenced in other books I have read, so I was intrigued.  Jim Collins and his team researched and analyzed eleven companies that transitioned from good to great (measured by cumulative stock returns) while other comparison companies in the same industry did not.  The companies selected were Abbott, Circuit City, Fannie Mae, Gillette, Kimberley-Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens and Wells Fargo.  The team drew seven somewhat surprising conclusions from their extensive research.  One that I found particularly interesting was that the good to great companies first found the right people and then decided where they were headed.

In the final chapter of the book, the author then concludes that by applying the findings in this book to your life and seeking greatness in some area, you can have a meaningful life.  I simply don't agree.  I think, like the Teacher in Ecclesiastes, we will even find that seeking greatness is even meaningless.  He concludes: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).  I believe that our true meaning is found in loving and serving our Creator.

Yes, we read another delightful book by Marguerite Henry!  You might guess from the title Stormy, Misty's Foal that the renowned movie star Misty of Chincoteague is pregnant!  Before she births the foal, though, the island is devastated by a hurricane.  When the Beebe family is forced to evacuate, they lead Misty into Grandma's kitchen.  Later, they exercise caution and transport her to an animal hospital in Pocomoke, where she births her mare colt Stormy.  Unfortunately, the wild ponies of Assateague were almost completely wiped out by the hurricane.  Paul and Maureen agree to a unique fundraising endeavor to replace the wild herds.  Misty and Stormy go on a special tour where Misty's movie is showing with all the proceeds from ticket sales going to replace the wild herds and clean up the island.  I found this story so touching and it brought me to tears many times, especially the letters and donations from children described in the Epilogue.  This is a wonderful book.
Since I love Crystal Paine's blog, MoneySavingMom, I was really excited to read her book Money Saving Mom's Budget!  Funny thing, I just couldn't sleep for some reason the night before its release, so I actually started reading it the moment it was delivered to my Kindle, at around 12:01 am on January 10!  I think this is an excellent book to read if you are looking for ways to cut back your budget, especially your grocery budget.  Since I read Crystal's blog daily, there was no information in this book that was new to me, but I still think this is a great resource because all of the information is collected in one place.  There is information in this book about how to set up a budget, many tips for reducing household budget items, how to find and use coupons, other ways to lower your grocery bill, and how to save on entertainment.  There are even tips on how to reduce clutter and have a successful yard sale.  My favorite chapter was the chapter on choosing to be content.  The information in this book is very much common sense, but, let's face it, we lack it often, especially in the area of finances.

I borrowed The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh from the library to read to Mary.   In this book, eight-year-old Sarah and her father set out in 1707 to build the first house in New Milford, Connecticut.  Before leaving her mother told her, "Keep up your courage, Sarah Noble!"  Sarah found this difficult to do.  There were strange noises and wild animals and Indians.  Truly, the most difficult part comes when her father leaves her with an Indian family in order to bring her mother and siblings to the newly completed house.  She finds her father's words to ring true, "To be afraid and to be brave is the best courage of all."  We enjoyed this book and it is a great one to teach children about befriending people who look and speak differently as well as to face difficult situations.

I have had Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer sitting on the bookshelf for a long time but only read it this month.  I had been having a very difficult time with my thought life and found this book to be really helpful.  I felt like Joyce really understood me and my thoughts.  I appreciated her biblical counsel in how to recognize and overcome ungodly and unproductive thought patterns.  I also liked that the chapters were very short, and I could read an entire chapter in one sitting without interruption (and interruptions are frequent as you probably can imagine with four children five and under!)