Slice of Life: A Year of Reading

I envy my blogging friends who write about their reading each week. I've never felt up to that task. Even though I love to read, I'm a slow reader and amazed at the book lists some friends share. 

Tonight I'll be zooming with a group of online friends to share our favorite reads of 2025. I belong to several book clubs: one from Seattle, one in Greensboro, and one composed of three friends who read together to stay connected (we don't meet every month).

Sometimes, I feel that my book clubs keep me from reading what I want to read, but the overall benefit of staying connected with old friends and making new friends keeps me on the book club express. 

Here are my favorites from this past year (including January 2025). I've included a picture of the top book in each category.

Fiction

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride 

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner

Nonfiction 

Start With Hello by Shannan Martin

 Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard

Poetry

Above Ground by Clint Smith

Devotions by Mary Oliver

Middle Grade

Tree.Table.Book. by Lois Lowry

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead & Wendy Mass 

The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Olivetti by Allie Millington

Picture Book

One Small Spark: A Tikkun Olum Story by Ruth Spiro 

There's No Place Like Hope by Janet Lawler

Watch Out for the Lion! by Brooke Hartman

 

Leave a book recommendation for me. My WTR (want to read) list is already out of control, so a few more titles won't be a problem.

Slice of Life: How Was Singing Time?

My youngest grandson has just begun attending Primary after our worship service on Sunday mornings. They have to be three years old and don't make the move into Primary until the new year begins in January. Before that, they attend nursery with all the children from 18 months through 3 years of age. It's a big transition and it was only Ollie's second time because our church was cancelled due to snow during the second week of January.

Last Sunday after church his mom inquired, " Ollie, how was Singing Time today?"

"Good, we did "Church, Party, and Play'."

After a moment's reflection, his mom asked, "Do you mean 'Search, Ponder, and Pray"?"

"Yeah." 

Personally, I prefer thinking of it as "Church, Party, and Play!" It's easy to see how a three year old might make those substitutions.

Slice of Life: Find the Decoration!

The grand boys (7, 5, and 3) came over for a visit last week. Just so you get an idea about what that was like, their Christmas card this year included this line: "From our merry mayhem to yours." They loved that our tree was still up. I've always been slow to take it down, but I don't put it up by Thanksgiving either. They enjoyed looking at all of our decorations, from our corn husk angel on the entryway table (30+ years old) to a more recent wooden decoration featuring a tree and a snowman with a lighted star on top of tree and the words "Oh Joy!" It had spent part of the season on the bedroom dresser, but I had recently moved it to the entryway table beside the corn husk angel. (Joy was a serious contender for my OLW for '25, until BE nestled into my heart.)

Ollie, our three years old grandson, enjoyed carrying the lighted decoration around. After they left, I noticed it was no longer on the entryway table. I recalled seeing him carrying it towards the living room shortly before they left. 

So my search began. Did he tuck in into the Christmas basket with an assortment of holiday creatures? No. Did he decide to add it to the Main Street table where it could decorate this favorite toy of his? Not there, either. Did he hide it behind the pillows on the couch? Nope. 

I considered calling his mom and asking her to inquire about the location, but I didn't want him to get in trouble. I settled into my comfy chair to watch the evening news, convinced that our snowman with a tree and lighted star would eventually surface. It was later in the evening when I spied it, exactly where our ingenious three-year-old decided it belonged.

 

And I left it there because it brought a smile of joy each time I thought of him carefully hanging  it there! 

Spiritual Journey Thursday and Poetry Friday: How I Gathered in 2024 & My Word for '25

Margaret at Reflections on the Teche is hosting our first Thursday Spiritual Journey posts with a call to share our OLW for 2025. She selected this beautiful waterfall photo to accompany our 2025 writing journeys.

One of the challenges of choosing a OLW involves looking back at the previous year's word. I kept "gather "for a 2nd year since 2023 became a wild ride when we decided to follow our daughter and family in a move from Washington state to North Carolina. Suddenly, I found myself purging once again (not gathering) in preparation for a move to a smaller space. I kept the same poem I had written in 2023 with the addition of one line for 2024.

What Will I Gather in 2024? 

Words, Moments, Stories

Wonders, Revels, Enchantments

Photos, Empty Boxes, Loose Ends

Friends, Loved Ones, Ancestors 

Hope, Goodness, Faith

Laughter, Love, Light

- Ramona Behnke

What did I manage to gather in 2024? 

I gathered with the UT grands in March (after Roots Tech), in July for Teddy's baptism, in September (after the Restore conference) and in November for Thanksgiving. 

I gathered with a group of friends in Utah to attend the Faith Matters: Restore conference in September.

I gathered coats for our friends in western NC after Hurricane Helene. 

I gathered supplies for gift bags for preschoolers whose parents are attending English classes at New Arrivals Institute. 

I gathered photos of mushrooms (delighted each time I spotted a new variety), the glorious hues of fall, and the sky (ever a favorite)! 

But my very favorite photo gathering has to be the grands. I revel in the enchantments and wonders they bring to my life. 

 

Standing on the cusp of 2025, unsure of what lies ahead, 

I  choose to gather hope, goodness, and faith. 

Surely laughter, love, and light will follow!

 It's time to unveil my OLW for 2025:

Shortest word I've ever chosen.  

Drum roll, please . . .  

Cue the confetti! 

My word is

BE.

- Ramona Behnke

For more on why I chose "be", stay tuned for a future blog post.

Poetry Friday is hosted by Mary Lee Hahn this week. She invites us to the poetry playground with wisdom from the Conjunctions who hail from the Land of Grammar.