My To Do List

As much as I love technology and all that is available to do with technology, there are a few paper things I still enjoy.

I prefer actual books over my Kindle.

I prefer to write out my grocery list on paper over any app I have found.

And I prefer a 'to do' list on paper over my phone.

I know there are many systems and apps out there.

I have tried many systems and apps.

Here is the thing...whoever created any particular system or app, that system or app worked well for that person. Maybe the person shared that system or app and it worked well for a bunch of people. Doesn't necessarily mean the system or app will work for you or me.

Maybe you have tried countless systems or apps, and none of them work for you.

That is okay.

Why?

Because you have to find what works for you.

Just because 'something' works well for 'everyone', doesn't mean it is right for you.

So why am I sharing about my to do list?

Because it works for me.

And maybe it might work for you.

It is simply a junior legal pad and a pen.

This is not a daily to do list.

I started this list on Monday, and today is Friday.

I added things to the list each day this week.

Some of these things I finished earlier in the week.

Some of these things I finished yesterday.

As you can see, I still need to do a couple of things on this list.

I keep a running to do list because there are things I need to remember to do, and I won't remember to do them unless I write them down.

So now that this blog post is written, I need to write letters to my Compassion kids!

How do you keep track of your to do items through the week?

My Current Book Stack

My current book stack is bigger than I thought it would be...

But then, I am actually not too surprised.

I sit down to read at least three times a day.

When I wake up in the morning, I sit down with my Bible and at least two devotionals.

After lunch, I read from at least one book.

Before bed, I sometimes read from one other book.

Right now, I am reading from the following books:

The MacArthur Study Bible - Back in June, I started a 90 Day Bible Reading Plan. Well, it is taking me longer than 90 days to finish this reading plan. Right now, I am in the middle of Isaiah. 

Seize the Day with Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Charles Ringma - This one is a quick daily read in the morning with a Dietrich Bonhoeffer quote, a verse of scripture, and a thought based on the quote and the scripture. I started this one back in May. The entries may be short, but they are powerful.

New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp - Just added this one a couple of weeks ago and have been overwhelmed with how timely some of the readings have been. 

Daily Acts of Kindness Devotional by Julie Fisk, Kendra Roehl, and Kristin Demery - I received this one from Tyndale House Publishers recently as an advance copy to review. I haven't read through all 365 daily entries, but I do appreciate the suggestions for putting others first each and every day. Our 'me-centered' society could use a good does of daily acts of kindness.

The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children by Stormie Omartian - Now that both of my children have graduated from high school, and I have been wanting to put more time into praying for others, I decided it was a good time to read this book. I haven't completely agreed with everything the author talks about in this book, but she does share some great content on the power of prayer for our children.

The Marvelous Mud House by April Graney - This is a children's book I recently received to preview from April, who is a Compassion sponsor and blogger. She wrote this book based on her family's travels to meet their Compassion sponsored child in Kenya. The book is a great reminder for all of us to be content, and that many of us have much to share with others.

Megan se muda by Jacqueline A. Wolfe - I am currently taking a Spanish class and our assignment this week was to check out a couple of children's books in Spanish so we can read them out loud in our next class. 

Daring to Hope by Katie Davis Majors - I am hoping to save this one for my trip next week. As much as I am trying to use my Kindle, I still love to travel with an actual book.

So what books are in your current book stack?

Fall Photos...so far

Today, I have done a whole lot of nothing.

For some reason, this year has been incredible busy.

I don't want to complain about how busy I have been because I have had some amazing opportunities this year.

But today, I really enjoyed staying home. Which gave me the chance to edit a few photos.

This week, I was able to take my camera with me to a couple of our favorite California locations, and take some photos at home.

Golden Gate Bridge

Pizza My Heart at Capitola Beach

Capitola Pier

Homemade Vanilla Bean Scones

Strawberries

Thank You gift

3Strands bracelets from Mercy House Global

What photo is your favorite? And what have you been taking photos of?

Fall Photo Challenge

My daughter recently purchased her first DSLR.

She has quite a good eye for photography and is already using her camera on manual mode, which took me quite a while to learn.

The first day she had her camera, we drove around our town looking for a couple of good spots to attempt to capture sunset.

Since I have done a terrible job of keeping up with the Capture Your 365 photo challenge this year, I decided today would be a good day to start taking pictures every day for this month. I might not post them every day, but I will commit to pick up my DSLR and take pictures with it every day this month.

Since today is the first day of October, I found a couple of orange things around my home to photograph.

I really want to practice portrait photography. But in the meantime, I can practice with objects around my home.

"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something in an ordinary place...I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them." - Elliott Erwitt

Making Time to Speak Up

Last night, for some reason, I was thinking about our Compassion trip to Mexico my daughter and I took in January. 

And then, when I started checking Facebook this morning, I saw reports of an earthquake that hit off the coast of southern Mexico last night.

I immediately starting thinking about Alfredo and his family, and the many other Compassion children and their families that live in Chiapas.

In 2014, my son and I were on our first trip with Compassion. And where did we go? Chiapas. The most southern state in the country of Mexico. 

See that pink building in the photo above? That is the church in this community. The church had no glass in the windows, and the restroom? Basically an outhouse with no roof out behind the church.

Do you think this building is up to earthquake standards? I am sure no building inspector has even seen this place, let alone ever traveled to a location like this.

Why am I sharing this with you?

"You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know." _ William Wilberforce

Recently, I finished reading 'Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery' by Eric Metaxas.

I have seen extreme poverty and I have to speak up about it. I know that we live in the most prosperous nation on earth.

I know that there are families in other countries living with next to nothing. They do not have the resources we have to rebuild when everything around them is destroyed.

We cannot sit back and do nothing.

If you can and are willing, Compassion has a fund set up to help families in disasters. You can visit this link to make a donation today.