Sisters' December Reading Challenge

The last month of the year was a great reading month. I love the coziness of a reading a book during the dark nights of December. With busier schedules this month, a quiet hour to read was even more cherished.

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December Reading Challenge

1. Read a Christmas book.

Charity- Hallelujah by Cindy Rollins

Handel’s Messiah is always a wonderful addition to the month of December. In this advent book Rollins breaks down this beautiful song into a 25-day listening schedule and Scripture readings. Each day Mom and I enjoying a few minutes of beautiful singing. Over and over we were amazed as we listened and read the words that Handel set to music. Rollins also included guest writers who share their Christmas traditions and explain Handel’s remarkable piece. We are already talking about how we are going to read it again next year! 

Gina- Home for Christmas - numerous authors

This was a heart-warming collection of Christmas stories. Though some of them were possibly doctrinally unsound, such as rewrites of the Christmas story with shepherds and wisemen arriving at the stable at the same time, I can overlook such things. A few were true stories, many were classics, but most I had never read. Short stories are perfect for a busy schedule.

2. Read a book on doctrine/spiritual growth/self-help.

Charity-Unseen: The Gift of Being Hidden in a World that Loves to Be Noticed by Sara Hagerty

Being unseen and unnoticed is hard. We want to do something worthy of notice, to change lives, visibly serving God. But what if God wants us to hide in Him? To know Him personally without the crutch of “doing” something great? Hagerty explores the concept of being hidden and unseen by telling her experience of learning to know God more fully. I didn’t finish reading this book yet, but I’ve been challenged and can’t wait to see what the rest of the book will teach me. 

Gina - Adorned: Living Out the Beauty of the Gospel Together by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

Nancy examines the verses in Titus 2 and the role of an older woman to teach the younger to "adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." (Titus 2:10) While this book didn't reveal lots of new truth to me, I need reminded of the strength we have to encourage each other in the faith.

3. Reread a favorite book.

Charity-Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I stepped back into a childhood favorite this month, and it was pure delight! I am a firm believer in rereading books because the way you view life is always changing. Little Women held so much meaning as I read it again in my twenties. It is the story of four sisters living with their mother while their father is away fighting in the Civil War. They are trying to decide what really matters in life and overcome their valleys and weaknesses. It is a story of growing up and learning that their castles in the air won’t always come true, and yet maybe there is something much better in store for them.

Gina- A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser

I read this book quite a few years ago after my brother-in-law died. I've known I should reread it and this seemed like a good time. Jerry lost his mother, wife, and daughter in a car accident. He wrote this book three years after the accident. I felt like he understood where I am in the grief journey. I like that he is willing to answer the hard questions of where is God in our pain. He also acknowledges all pain, not just death, but other losses such as unemployment, infertility, and abandonment. I underlined lots in this book and highly recommend it as the best book I've read on grief. 

4. Write a list of favorite books you read this year and share your list with a friend.

Charity-

• Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose
• The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
• The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera
• When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin
• Under the Tuscan Son by Frances Mayes
• Unbroken by Laura Hilenbrand
• Green Dolphin Street by Elizabeth Goudge
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
• Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens 
• Son of Hamas by Mosab Has Yousef
• The Boy in the Window by Bobby Easton 

Gina- Here is my list. And I'm sharing it with you, my friend. My ten favorite books this year lean heavily toward books on grief, and only one is fiction. Not sure what that says about my year, but looking through this list reminds me of how richly I was blessed by words on a page this year.

• The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield
• Home by Marilynne Robinson
• Unseen: The Gift of Being Hidden in a World that Loves to be Noticed by Sara Hagerty
• Missional Motherhood by Gloria Furman
• Peanut Butter and Dragon Wings by Shari Zook
• I've Seen the End of You by W. Lee Warren
• Just Show Up by Kara Tippetts and Jill Lynn Buteyn
• Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop
• The Insanity of God by Nik Ripkin
• A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser

5. Read a book while listening to Christmas music.

Charity -

Christmas music is often playing in the background after Thanksgiving. This month often found me enjoying the cozy mood of Christmas songs while snuggling up with a good book! Also mom and I would often be found listening to Handel’s Messiah with our advent book in hand so that we could follow along.

Gina- Christmas music is played on repeat at our house so it was the backdrop to lots of reading this month.

Both of us enjoyed the reading challenges this past year. I read more books this year than usual and  severely cut back my screen time. It was fun to have a little push to read the books that have been collecting on my shelves. 

We will be taking a break from the Sisters' Reading Challenge for the next two months to take part in the Brighter Winter Reading Challenge. But we will be back in March with a new version of the Sisters' Reading Challenge. 

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(The literary scarf I'm wearing in these photos was a gift from my children and can be found at Storiart. I'll let you guess what book they chose!)

Happy New Year! We look forward to reading with you in 2022!