Thyroids and Laundromats and Awards, Oh My!

I have known something was wrong with me for the last few years as I am exhausted most of the time and sleep a lot on the weekends. Thyroid problems run in my family, so I have suspected that was what was wrong but my blood tests came back within normal limits. Until recently. Finally the test shows that I have hypothyroidism, an under-active thyroid, and I have been given medication to try to regulate it. It may seem strange to be happy that something is wrong with me, but the joy is in knowing that it has been found and thus can be fixed.

Also, Violette from The Mystery Bookshelf has kindly awarded me this Super Commenter Award.

Thanks, Violette! I'm not going to pass this along to anyone specifically, but thank all my wonderful commenters for stopping by!

Our weekend started off with a bang on Saturday as we tried to do laundry. We live in an apartment building where we use the building's washer and dryer, along with 7 other apartments. We have to pay for both the washer and dryer loads but it's much cheaper than the laundromat and is upstairs as opposed to going out. Well, when Jono went to switch the load from the washer to the dryer, the dryer would not work (after putting our quarters in it). So... we had an emergency trip to the laundromat on Saturday morning. Sigh, at least we could do several loads at once while at the laundromat so we were done fairly quickly. Hopefully our dryer will be fixed by this coming weekend.

A Review and an Award

Sacred Pathways by Gary L. Thomas

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pretty interesting book dealing with how different people relate best to God. The author explores 9 different ways that people worship God. Depending on a person's temperament, one may feel closer to God while outside on a nature walk or in a cathedral experiencing communion.

1. Naturalists: Loving God Out of Doors
2. Sensates: Loving God with the Senses
3. Traditionalists: Loving God through Ritual and Symbol
4. Ascetics: Loving God in Solitude and Simplicity
5. Activists: Loving God through Confrontation
6. Caregivers: Loving God by Loving Others
7. Enthusiasts: Loving God with Mystery and Celebration
8. Contemplatives: Loving God through Adoration
9. Intellectuals: Loving God with the Mind

Each chapter goes into detail on that particular path of relating to God. At the end of each chapter are questions to help determine whether that path is dominant in your life or not. People can have preferences for more than 1 path.

I found by the questions determining which pathway is more dominant for me that I am partly Ascetic and partly Enthusiast. It was interesting to read about the different paths.

I was recently given an award by Kristi of Books and Needlepoint. The Let's Be Friends award

Blogs that received the Let’s Be Friends Award are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.

Thanks, Kristi!

What Will I Do with My Money? by Ray Linder

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'm not sure where to start in reviewing this book - it was excellent. More of a book on personality types than money management, the premise is that our personality affects how we view and use money. Other things that influence our view of money are family of origin, peers, and society and culture.

I've always been intrigued by personality types and this book was an excellent tutorial on the different types. Using the Myers-Briggs types, there are 16 different personality types with combinations from 4 different factors: Introvert vs. Extrovert, Sensing vs. Intuitive, Thinker vs. Feeler, and Judging vs. Perceiving. The author also looks at temperament, which has been divided into 4 types - Sanguine, Melancholic, Choleric and Phlegmatic. These temperaments correspond with key aspects of the MBTI (Myers-Briggs) personality type.

I could go on and on, but these personality types are then drawn out in how they tend to view money. Then conflict between personality types is addressed such as in marriage and how this affects conflict over money. Personality types and career choice are then discussed as career choice affects money and the amount of it. Tips are given to modify your money style and use the strengths of your personality in managing money better. Learning to communicate with other personality types and seeing their points of view helps to lessen money conflict.

Very good book on personality and how it affects use of money.

What Will I Do With My Money? by Ray Linder

Read-a-thon Progress

I have been enjoying my day for the most part - relaxing and puttering around. I've spent a bit too much time on the computer probably, but ah, well. I've made progress in my 2 main reads, Relentless and Sacred Pathways. Also, took a nap and watched some Friends, plus did some laundry.

Now the hubby is home (he had to work today) and is watching the end of the Detroit Red Wings game (they're winning-yay!) so am not really able to get reading done. He's been gone all day and I'd like to hang out with him for a bit, so will put aside reading for now and maybe pick it back up later on. Not sure how late I'll stay up so this might be a good-night. Enjoy your reading and thanks to all the wonderful cheerleaders!

Read-a-thon Update and Comment Spam

My apologies to those trying to comment - I've been inundated with comment spam today and have had to turn on comment moderation. Most of my posts seemed to have been spammed and I'm quite steamed right now.

On the read-a-thon update, I've gotten some reading in. Not a lot but am happy with what I've gotten done. I'm reading a couple books - Relentless by Robin Parrish and Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas. I've got some other ones to grab as well and have read a few pages of a re-read The Bride by Charles Swindoll. I also have some Tintin comics if I get too bogged down in my other reading.

Happy Reading!

24 Hour Read-a-thon Begins!

And we're off!

I got a bit of a late start - started around 9 instead of 8, but I have my coffee and my pile of books and have gotten in a few pages so far.

Happy Reading!

100 Christian Books that Changed the Century by W. & R. Petersen

rating: 4 of 5 stars

A list of books that were influential or had an impact in some way during the twentieth century. Each book is briefly summarized along with why it made an impact or how it was influential. A brief background of the author is also given. It was interesting to see what books made the list. The Chronicles of Narnia, A Wrinkle in Time, In His Steps, as well as several Bible handbooks and theology books were some of the books included. This was a quick and easy read as well as interesting to see what made the list.

100 Christian Books That Changed the Century by William J. Petersen

My review

Here's the complete list in case you're interested. The list went by publication and decade, not in order of importance, so they are listed in order from 1899 through 1995.


1. In His Steps by Charles Sheldon
2. The Evangelization of the World in This Generation by John R. Mott
3. Quiet Talks on Power by S.D. Gordon
4. Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington
5. The Crises of the Christ by G. Campbell Morgan
6. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
7. Power through Prayer by E.M. Bounds
8. The Scofield Reference Bible by C.I. Scofield
9. Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours by Roland Allen
10. War on the Saints by Jessie Penn-Lewis
11. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia by James Orr, General Editor
12. The Fundamentals by A.C. Dixon, Louis Meyer, and R.A. Torrey, General Editors
13. Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
14. Halley's Pocket Bible Handbook by Henry H. Halley
15. Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton
16. Streams in the Desert by Lettie Cowman
17. The Christ of the Indian Road by E. Stanley Jones
18. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
19. The Basis of Christian Faith by Floyd E. Hamilton
20. Religion that Works by Samuel M. Shoemaker
21. Who Moved the Stone? by Frank Morison
22. Prayer by Ole Hallesby
23. A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie
24. Church Dogmatics by Karl Barth
25. Worship by Evelyn Underhill
26. The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
27. The Witness by Grace Livingston Hill
28. If by Amy Carmichael
29. The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy L. Sayers
30. The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas
31. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
32. The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism by Carl F.H. Henry
33. The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton
34. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
35. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
36. The Archaeology of Palestine by William Foxwell Albright
37. Peace of Soul by Fulton J. Sheen
38. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland H. Bainton
39. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
40. A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall
41. Christ and Culture by H. Richard Niebuhr
42. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
43. The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
44. Your God Is Too Small by J. B. Phillips
45. The Daily Study Bible by William Barclay
46. New Bible Commentary by F. Davidson, A.M. Stibbs, and E.F. Kevan
47. Peace with God by Billy Graham
48. The Household of God by Lesslie Newbigin
49. The Christian View of Science and Scripture by Bernard Ramm
50. The Bridges of God by Donald Anderson McGavran
51. The Burden Is Light by Eugenia Price
52. Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls by F. F. Bruce
53. Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot
54. The Meaning of Persons by Paul Tournier
55. Stride toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story by Martin Luther King Jr.
56. Basic Christianity by John Stott
57. The Gospel Blimp by Joseph T. Bayly
58. The Psychology of Counseling by Clyde M. Narramore
59. The New Bible Dictionary by J. D. Douglas, Organizing Editor
60. The Company of the Committed by Elton Trueblood
61. The Genesis Flood by John C. Whitcomb and Henry M. Morris
62. Man: The Image of God by G. C. Berkouwer
63. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
64. Living Letters by Kenneth N. Taylor
65. The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson with John and Elizabeth Sherrill
66. They Speak with Other Tongues by John Sherrill
67. Spiritual Depression by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
68. The Kingdom of the Cults by Walter R. Martin
69. The Taste of New Wine by Keith Miller
70. Know Why You Believe by Paul E. Little
71. Christy by Catherine Marshall
72. Move Ahead with Possibility Thinking by Robert H. Schuller
73. The God Who Is There by Francis Schaeffer
74. Dare to Discipline by James Dobson
75. The Meaning of the City by Jacques Ellul
76. The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey with Carole C. Carlson
77. Eighth Day of Creation by Elizabeth O'Connor
78. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill
79. Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell
80. The Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen
81. The Total Woman by Marabel Morgan
82. Knowing God by J. I. Packer
83. The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
84. All We're Meant to Be by Letha Scanzoni and Nancy Hardesty
85. Born Again by Charles Colson
86. Joni by Joni Eareckson with Joe Musser
87. The Battle for the Bible by Harold Lindsell
88. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ron Sider
89. Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster
90. Telling the Truth by Frederick Buechner
91. Where Does a Mother Go to Resign? by Barbara Johnson
92. Out of the Saltshaker and into the World by Rebecca Manley Pippert
93. With Justice for All by John Perkins
94. Worship Is a Verb by Robert Webber
95. This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti
96. The Man in the Mirror by Patrick M. Morley
97. Experiencing God by Henry T. Blackaby and Claude V. King
98. Disappointment with God by Philip Yancey
99. Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
100. The Purpose-Driven Church by Rick Warren

How many have you heard of or read?

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon is back!

Even though I don't stay up for the entire 24 hours, I do enjoy participating in the 24-hour Read-a-thon. It's so much fun to read everyone's posts and have a whole day set aside just for reading. I never get much reading done as I have way too short of an attention span and a large need for lots of sleep, but I still enjoy the day. Several bloggers have come together in Dewey's memory to keep the Read-a-thon going and a special blog has been set up where you can sign up. Go here for more information and to sign up to be either a Cheerleader (oh, we Readers just love you guys!) or a Reader or other duties as needed. The Read-a-thon is scheduled for this coming weekend - April 18-19, starting at 8 AM Eastern Time. I'm going to try to participate as I can, but probably won't make it more than a few hours if past history is any indication. :-)

Being "normal"

I have not lived a normal life. Then again, what is "normal" anyway? Here are some definitions I found through Google:

Definitions of normal on the Web:
-conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal; "serve wine at normal room temperature"; "normal ...
-in accordance with scientific laws
-being approximately average or within certain limits in e.g. intelligence and development

Nope, not normal. Definitely not average! Growing up in one of the poorest countries of the world. Going to high school in the middle of a coffee plantation in Africa. Traveling around the world several times before I was even 18. Learning to read and write in different languages. Playing among banana, crabapple and mulberry trees. Learning how to ride a bike on a brick road at a medical compound in the tropics. Swimming in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. Having a monkey in the wild take a cookie right out of my hand.

These are some of the experiences of my life. So as an adult, having now lived in the USA for almost 17 years, I still find that being normal does not come naturally for me. My whole life, I've always been different. I was white in a nation of brown or black, blue eyes among the brown. Fitting in has always been a struggle for me. Where exactly do you put a square peg when all the holes are round?

Daring Chloe by Laura Jensen Walker

Daring Chloe by Laura Jensen Walker

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars


When Chloe is dumped by her fiance the night before her wedding via text message, she is devastated. Her book club friends are there for her as she attempts to move on with her life. Their book club leader has them try new things that are related to the books they are reading, including going to Paris. Chloe has always played it safe and trying new things and being adventurous is not her style. Stretching herself, she moves out of her comfort zone and is able to grow as a person.

Quotes:

"How do you explain to a nonreader that books aren't just things but treasured friends? Companions?"

"Life's too short to waste on books I don't like."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - "A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."