Day 13 - How Do I Read?

‘For whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Romans 15:4-6

How do I read?

What a thought-provoking question!

In case you don’t know by now, I’m not choosing the titles of these blog posts. They are coming from the titles of each chapter in the book by Reverend Mills. Often they are a meditation unto themselves—as is the case here.

How do I read?

How we do something—as we all know—makes all the difference in everything that we do. Most actions accomplished half-heartedly, aimlessly or with a distracted mind might as well be left undone. We all know what God thinks of lukewarm lovers. Be on-fire for Him or be gone.

So again I ask: how do I read?

S lowly, taking time for each thought, each phrase to dissolve into me.
C arefully, being as gentle with a word as I would with The Word.
R eflectively, savoring subtle meanings, like delicate flavors of a fine wine.
I ntrospectively, letting everything I read filter down through my journey.
P rayerfully, seeking the Father, through His Son, by the power of the Spirit.
T hankfully, bowing humbly before the Source to all Life and Grace.
U niversally, acknowledging my nothingness except as His child.
R everently, loving Him utterly for all He has done; striving to do the same.
E veryday! Everyday! Everyday!

How I read is as important as what I read.

A Vet's Reflections

When they ask the veterans to stand in church – and other public places – I never like to. My children give me a hard time about this. “You’re a vet too, Mom. Why don’t you stand up? You aren’t ashamed of it, are you?” On the contrary, I think serving our country is one of the finest things a person can do, but like James Bradley in Flags of Our Fathers, I don’t think I did anything special. Except of course that he really did do something special and I, on the other hand, know that I didn’t. I just did my job and for that I received a paycheck. It was a simple economic exchange, just like any other job.

But is that true?

Do I really know that? And is any job, just ‘a job’? Isn’t everything we do, how we do it, far more than what we do?

One of the first things I learned as a young lieutenant is that I rarely got recognized, much less noticed, the times I went all out, but I sometimes received awards and notice when I hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. I suppose that knowledge could have made me cynical, but I decided to look at it pragmatically, figuring there is some sort of rough justice in it all and we don’t work for awards anyway. We work for the certain knowledge it’s the right thing to do. We work for God . . . and country. In other words, we follow the first and second commandments.

I had the distinct pleasure of serving my country from 1979 through 1991, through the Cold War, Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I spent nine of my thirteen years of active service overseas and while it was far from glamorous or glorious, I never dreamed how much I would miss it when it was all over. The camaraderie is like nothing you will ever find elsewhere, the opportunities to learn –and fail—are endless, as are the chances to try new things, go all over the world and yet truly find what you are made of inside. The military was the best choice I could have made right out of college and I have no regrets, except that I didn’t do more for my country. I was – am – far too selfish. I was told that I needed to “watch out for myself”, to protect myself from ‘the system’. Perhaps I did. But, God save us from an entire unit, squadron or more of individuals with that attitude.

Today my daughters’ school had a nice tribute to Veterans. The Junior R.O.T.C. stood in formation, the colors were brought in, some decorated Vets were given special honors and the choir sang a medley of the military service songs. And when the familiar words were sung, “Off we go, into the wild blue yonder…” I stood up. I can’t tell you how proud I am—of my country, and how blessed I know myself to be—to have served her in this small way. But mostly, I am grateful to all who have worn and continue to wear the United States military uniform.

God bless the men and women serving on active duty, their families and the country we are all blessed to live in!

Here are the first verses (and refrains where applicable) of each of the military services’ songs:

U.S. Air Force
Off we go, into the wild blue yonder,
Climbing high into the sun.
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder,
At 'em boys, give 'er the gun.
Down we dive, spouting our flame from under,
Off with one hell-uv-a roar!
We live in fame or go down in flame,
Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force.


U.S. Army
First to fight for the right,
And to build the nation's might.
And the Army goes rolling along.
Proud of all we have done,
Fighting until the battle's won.
And the Army goes rolling along.

Then it's Hi! Hi! Hey!
The Army is on its way,
Count off the cadence loud and strong
For where'er we go,
You will always know,
That the Army goes rolling along.


U.S. Coast Guard
From Aztec shore to Arctic zone,
To Europe and Far East.
The flag is carried by our ships,
In times of war and peace.
And never have we struck it yet,
In spite of foe-men's might,
Who cheered our crews and cheered again,
For showing how to fight.


U.S. Marine Corps
From the halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli
We will fight our country's battles
In the air, on land and sea.
First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean.
We are proud to claim the title of,
United States Marines.


U.S. Navy
Stand, Navy, out to sea, fight our battle cry;
We'll never change our course,
So vicious foe steer shy-y-y-y
Roll out the TNT, Anchors Aweigh. Sail on to victory
And sink their bones to Davy Jones, hooray!

Anchors Aweigh, my boys, Anchors Aweigh.
Farewell to college joys, we sail at break of day-ay-ay-ay.
Through our last night on shore, drink to the foam,
Until we meet once more. Here's wishing you a happy voyage home.

Check out my books on Goodreads!

Thank you Amy!

This summer, after book blogging was patronized in the mainstream media, Amy from My Friend Amy made a suggestion that we celebrate book blogging. From that idea, Book Blogger Appreciation Week was born. Many of us have participated in interviews, contests, give-aways, and through awards; but, this would never have happened were it not for the dream, perseverance, planning, hard work and dedication of Amy. This has been a wonderful week and as members of the Book Blogging community, in one voice we want to thank Amy for all that she has done.

Amy, you are truly the Queen of Book Bloggers and we love you!

The July Book Blowout Wrap-up

Sadly folks, booklady did not make her goal of 8 books. In fact, she did not even come close! However, I did manage to finish 4 adult books and 2 young adult books, plus a whole bunch of little kid's books. And I've been working on some pretty tough non-fiction for my two on-line Catholic book clubs, one of which I'm moderator for. So, maybe . . . it's not as bad as it sounds?

Anyway, here are some questions Mrs. S posted that we could answer about the Book Blowout. I've put her questions in red and my answers in black.

1. Did you discover a new author? Yes, I did as a matter of fact! Her name is Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and she writes excellent young adult historical fiction! She also happens to be my friend on goodreads!!! How lucky can a booklady be?!

2. Where was the most unusual place you found yourself reading? Can't really say I read anywhere unusual...just all the same places: in bed, sitting in chairs, waiting in my car, at the kitchen table and well, of course in the official "Reading Room"!

3. Did you read more than usual? Yes! I found the challenge of having a deadline helped keep me a little more focused. Not a lot--but a little.

4. Did you give up anything in order to read more? Housework?! Does that count as something to 'give up'? LOL!

5. If you won the Amazon voucher what would you spend it on? Silly question! Books...is there anything else?!

6. Would you like to see a 2009 Book Blowout? Absolutely!

Loved it! Thanks Mrs. S! Call me or stop by next time you're having another book challenge of any kind!

Book Blowout

Hey want to do something really fun this month? Try this! Check out Blue Archipelago's July Book Blowout. Get your own button like mine at her website.



The rules are really simple. Just read as many books as you can between July 1 and 31 and then by August 7 post a list of all of the books you read on your blog. She isn't even requiring reviews to take part! Here's a complete list of the rules:

How do I join in the fun?
1. You can sign up any time between today and July 14!
2. To join you need to post about the Book Blowout on your blog - and set yourself a target number of books you will try to read - go on challenge yourself! (Please note: If you do not have a blog Mrs. S is perfectly happy for you to post your target in her comments - and then the list of books in the wrap-up post in August)
3. Use the Mr Linky here to link to that post so we can all see how many books you’re taking on in the Blowout
4. Post a list of the books you managed to read by the deadline of August 7 to complete the challenge

What rules do I need to know?
1. Only books read between July 1 and July 31 count towards the challenge
2. You can include re-reads - as long as they are read within the month of July
3. Books you abandon will only count as half a book
4. If you read to your children you can include all books which have more than 100 pages
5. You can include up to two graphic novels
6. You can include up to two audio books - (if you have a visual impairment that prevents you from reading then you can use just audio books for the challenge)
7. Books you read for other challenges are eligible - use this as an opportunity to catch up!
8. If you start a book before July 1 and then finish it during the month of July then you can count is as half a book

As for the booklady, her target goal is eight books this month. And if that doesn't sound like many, that's true! I wish it were more. But I won't be counting the children's books I read.

Enjoy fellow booklovers!