Musings: December 2018 God has crowned the year with His bountiful blessings.

Musings: Hello, 2019!

Posted on by Michele Morin

At the beginning of a new year and the winding down of the old, I love to look back on where I’ve been. With a brand new coating of frosty white on the surface of my garden, it’s hard to imagine that just three months ago I was harvesting cucumbers and green beans by the basket full and treating my grandson to brim full cups of tiny orange tomatoes that went “squirt” between his teeth. Nevertheless, here we are. A few of the things I thought I’d accomplish are completely untouched, but this is no surprise to God, and there have been plenty of surprises this year, unforeseen at the outset.

For instance, a box arrived in the mail just days before Christmas containing five beautiful (to me!) cookbooks that include family pictures and every recipe I could think of that our family has enjoyed together.  Here’s a line from the dedication page:

This book is dedicated to the Morin family, past, present, and future:
To the original six who sat around a dining room table and loved food and each other; to the much-loved Morins who have married into the chaos; and to Morins who will gather around future tables in places and times we can only imagine.

The time spent in 2018 typing recipes, driving a lawn mower, vacuuming up dog fur, canning green beans, and sweeping up the grandgirl’s cheerios from the dining room floor may just have been the most important things I accomplished in 2018.

2018 By the Numbers

In the Garden

Growing vegetables in the garden and then canning the overflow has been a constant in my life for nearly thirty years.  Even with an empty-ing nest, there are still plenty of reasons to keep preserving the harvest and remembering to be thankful for the work and for the gift of it all. My basement shelves are full of glistening jars to enjoy and to share:

Green Beans . . . 41 quarts
Salsa . . . 15 pints
Pickles . . . 15 quarts
Relish . . . 14 pints
Spaghetti Sauce . . . 36 quarts
Tomatoes . . . 21 quarts

On the Blog

This is the first time I’ve ever looked at “Top Posts” at year end, but having finally figured out how to do that in 2018, I am surprised by what I see. The most-read blog posts here in these parts weren’t the ones I shared with big sites for the eyes of another more skilled editor. They were all book reviews.  Furthermore, each one was based on the story of a woman and her calling, an unexpected and sometimes gritty story of God’s grace and a woman’s availability. Here’s the list in reverse order:

 Number 5 — Birthing Hope by Rachel Marie StoneBirthing Hope, Motherhood, Incarnation

Motherhood has been the single most influential event in my own story, and Rachel Marie Stone suggests a physiological reason for the alterations that come with motherhood. Apparently, a woman’s body acquires cells from every pregnancy. Each baby she carries leaves behind a few cells that join with hers, so when we take the plunge into motherhood, we do not surface unchanged. Birth is the metaphor that runs throughout Birthing Hope: Giving Fear to the Light as it binds memoir to meditation and bears witness to the journey that has left its mark on the author. When Stone and her husband packed up baggage and boys and relocated to Malawi, they had not an inkling of what it would cost them to serve university students in one of the poorest countries in the world.

Number 4–Holy in the Moment by Ginger Harrington

Love God. Embrace Truth. Enjoy Life.Holy in the Moment: Simple Ways to Love God and Enjoy Your Life, part memoir and part manifesto, is Ginger’s record of God’s faithfulness and a gift to readers in search of homely wisdom for living in sync with the promises of God. Fear and weakness forced Ginger to open her heart to the strength that comes only through prayer and to make one holy choice:

 

“Not every moment is good, but [she would] believe God is good in every moment.”

Number 3–Mrs Oswald Chambers by Michelle Ule

Biddy Chambers: A Sacramental Life

Published in 1927, My Utmost for His Highest has sold more than 13 million copies and has never been out of print. Over the course of its 90+ year history, it has been translated into 40 different languages, and Oswald Chambers’s unique and timeless wisdom is quoted far and wide.

However, until recently, little thought has been given to the fact that My Utmost was not published until ten years after Chambers’s death, and that it was his wife, Gertrude “Biddy” Hobbs Chambers who took on the mammoth task of compiling and editing nearly twenty years’ worth of sermons and lessons. Michelle Ule has traced this process in telling the story of the woman behind the great man:  Mrs. Oswald Chambers: The Woman behind the World’s Bestselling Devotional

Number 2–Blessed Are the Unsatisfied by Amy Simpson

8 Blessings of the Unsatisfied LifeAmy Simpson noticed early on that the tidy claims of Christianity were not lining up with the reality she was living at home. Suffering from the impact of her mother’s serious and debilitating mental illness, her family was certainly not strolling toward heaven with all their needs met and a smile on their faces. At this point, standard issue story-telling practices beg for an ending tied with a bow:  college, marriage, a successful career, and a loving family of her own–all a straight arrow toward deep satisfaction. However, in Blessed Are the Unsatisfied: Finding Spiritual Freedom in an Imperfect World, the reader is caught up in paradox, for even though many of Amy’s personal and professional goals have been met, she confesses that she still lives “with a kind of unsatisfaction that will not be lifted in this life.”

Number 1–A Leopard Tamed by Eleanor Vandevoort

A Leopard Tamed, Eleanor Vandevort, Missionary BiographyOver fifty years ago, Eleanor Vandevort came home from South Sudan in the wake of political unrest. Her thirteen years of language acquisition, Bible translation, literacy work, and relationship building were cut short with no certainty as to their effect or ultimate impact. When she set down the account of her struggle and her achievements in A Leopard Tamed, she was a woman ahead of her time, asking questions few in the golden age of U.S. missions were asking and even fewer wanted to entertain.

 

At this point, I want to draw all kinds of conclusions and ask all kinds of questions about this data:

  • What does it say about readers and about our world that two of my top blog posts featured women for whom we have only black and white photos?
  • What can we learn about ministry in general from this evidence that the stories of other women are such compelling reading?

At the very least, this is a call to share YOUR story whenever and wherever God give you the opportunity!
It’s a reminder to me that my most compelling words in 2019 will likely be centered around the record of what God is doing right now in my life to put His glory on display.

So, at the end of a year that has seen its share of great moments:  a fruitful garden, a new kitchen, a growing pair of grandkids that get cuter every day, I want to thank you for your interest in reading about the things the I’ve been reading about.

December at Living Our Days

December always seems to get short changed with all the year end musings, and with so many glorious things to write about in December, I managed to share only three book reviews.

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At the beginning of Advent, I can never resist opening my Bible to the page between the Testaments for a time of remembering the faithful men and women who waited for God to fulfill His promise of a Deliverer.

This year, that pondering time overflowed into a blog post devoted to Simeon’s story. Then, those few verses devoted to Herod’s jealous response to news of a newborn King have always bothered me, like a pebble in the shoe, so I spent some time giving them the attention they deserve and the results landed at Desiring God and Red Letter Christians.

What a unique opportunity Christmas gives us to minister to grieving parents in memory of those babies who fell prey to Herod’s sword. Too, the event reminds us that even Jesus’ entry into this world was tinged with blood, a foreshadowing of His divinely orchestrated purpose in coming to earth in the first place.

 

The new year will begin my fifth year blogging here at Living Our Days. This little writing home has been the gateway to some wonderful friendships and some exciting opportunities to teach and to write in places I would never have expected. Thank you for your faithfulness here in reading and sharing posts you’ve loved with your friends via word of mouth and social media.

And thanks be to God! Let’s join the psalmist in our thanksgiving as 2018 comes to a close:

“You crown the year with your bounty.”  Psalm 65:11

Blessings and Love to You,

Michele Morin

I  am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. If you should decide to purchase any of the books mentioned within this post, simply click on the title within the text, and you’ll be taken directly to Amazon. If you decide to buy, I’ll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

If you enjoy reading Living Our Days, subscribe to get regular content delivered to your inbox. Just enter your e-mail address in the field at the top of this page.

I link-up with a number of blogging communities on a regular basis. They are listed in the left sidebar by day of the week. I hope that you will take a moment to enjoy reading the work of some of these fine writers and thinkers.

 

Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four sons, four daughters-in-love, and five adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

45 thoughts on “Musings: Hello, 2019!”

  1. I love all your posts, including your outstanding book reviews, but actually I’m most partial to your personal views and ponderings. You are a gifted writer and a treasure. And I would love to get my hands on your cookbook. Was it a limited addition printing or is it available to purchase? Happy New Year!

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    1. What would I do without your encouragement?
      Those posts you prefer are the ones I have the hardest time putting “out there,” so thanks for cheering me on when I manage to do it.
      As for the cookbook, you are the second person with that question. I used an online site, typed in all the recipes, and am able to order more copies, but they are pretty expensive.

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  3. I love the idea of a family recipe book! Such a great thing to leave for future generations. I always enjoy your book review posts too. Look forward to many more in 2019!

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  4. So much to be thankful for! It is great to look back through the prior year and see all of the ways the Lord has blessed us with special unexpected gifts and especially with His loving presence. Thank you for all you share throughout the year!

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  5. I remember the garden and seeing the shelves stocked with canned goods. When we lived on Lake Ontario, we had plenty of apples, thus jars and jars of applesauce! I loved taking stock of the supply. I appreciate your book reviews, but I don’t think I could read as many as you! Apparently you are a speed reader. Thanks Michele.

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    1. Canning is such a satisfying and quantifiable task. Unlike writing, which often does not have visible results that correspond to the hours spent! 🙂
      I’m not a speed reader, but I do read quickly. And I read every night at bed time.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. it made me smile to see the numbers of quarts and pints of the beautiful bountiful fruits of your labor. i loved canning way back in the day … and there’s nothing at all in the world like your own freshly canned peaches.

    bliss.

    new year’s blessings to you, my New England blogging friend. may He prosper the work of our hands … in all the ways that matter most.

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    1. I have a beat up notebook where I have been recording planting and harvesting statistics for the nearly 30 years we have been gardening together. I love turning our garden over to Him every spring and trusting for the results, because it makes it very clear Who is in charge.
      Thanks for reading, Linda, and Happy 2019!

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  8. I’m surprised you’ve only been blogging five years! It seems like I have “known” you online for much longer. I have found that my most viewed posts are not from the current year – they are all older ones. I am puzzling over what that means, too.

    We’re still kind of in the fog between years. My oldest son just left to go home last night, we just took Christmas decorations down today, and this afternoon was dedicated to rest after all the family doings of the last two weeks. I have not thought much at all about the new year yet – maybe when my husband goes back to work next week, I’ll be able to pull some thoughts together. I do agree that those everyday ministrations to those in our lives are the most important things we do.

    I enjoy your blog – the books reviews and your thoughts on various issues. Happy 2019!

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    1. I also enjoy my visits to your writing home, Barbara. I hope you are able to get some rest now that all the celebration is done. We love having family visit, but it does take its toll–one more example of those “every day ministrations,” right?

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  9. Thank you for sharing your family pictures with us! And the bounty from your garden. I am not surprised that your book reviews are the most popular posts. Your book reviews should really be called book reviews-plus, because you always manage to inject some of your own wisdom, humor, and insight, which is much appreciated by this reader. Happy New Year, Michele!

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    1. I love trying to share the essence of the book without giving too much away, and then trying to give readers a bit of my own thoughts on the topic. I try to keep them under 1500 words, which seems to be getting harder. Is verbosity a symptom of aging, I wonder??

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Happy 2019! I am looking forward to what your 5th year of blogging brings. It’s always interesting to stop by your place and read of your latest reviews. I do think you are the Queen of Book Reviews, Michele, because you inject a lot of your own thoughts in the review as well. Somehow, you make me want to read EVERY book you review! That, my friend, is a talent!

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  12. I love your take on what were the most important things you accomplished in 2018.
    The cookbook sounds wonderful! I kind of see my blog as a similar thing…I share a lot of recipes and occasional pictures of my family. As long as my blog is there, my kids will have access to these.
    I’ve checked my library for “The Ministry of Ordinary Places” because I would like to read it. They don’t have it yet, but perhaps they will soon.
    Blessings to you this coming year, Michele!

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  13. I love that you received a family cookbook! That is fantastic. I have often thought that I’d like to compile one with recipes from my mother and grandmothers but sadly so many of those are lost in passing with them.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. How incredible to have such a precious gift as your family cookbook, it’s just so personal and thoughtful. I find it interesting to see what others enjoy of my work, or on my Instagram compared to my favourite pieces, it doesn’t surprise me that these were favourites though, you write beautiful reviews and I think as women we are more and more interested in the history of what makes us who we are today and the incredible women who lead the ways and suffered, and those who loved God. Thank you for sharing it with #AbloggingGoodTime

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    1. It is always surprising to find out what resonates with our readers and friends! Even this cookbook has been a surprise hit! I knew the kids would like it on some level, but have been surprised at the positive response.

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  17. It’s always very interesting to see your best read posts of a previous year great reflection on 2018 thanks for linking to #thatfridaylinky

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  18. I think women hunger after stories of how ordinary women have done out-of-the-ordinary things for God by showing up and living intentionally even when it was boring. It gives us courage and hope that our ordinary lives can be used by God, too.

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  19. Such a cool gift for your family- the recipes and your faithfulness in ordinary ways of living to love them throughout the year. 🙂 As usual, your insight is so thoughtful. I think you’re spot on, and as some others have said, I’m grateful for your personal pondering posts as well as the book reviews!

    Like

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