Study, Study, Study

I don't think I've done this much studying since I graduated from college!!  Funny thing is I have WAAAAAYYYYY more to learn now than I did back then too!  I am going to start 2 new bible studies this coming week and am actually really excited about the groups.

The first one that I am doing meets on Tuesday mornings at First Baptist Kingsville.  My new friend, Rhonda, that invited me to the Beth Moore simulcast will be leading this one.  I am really excited to get to know several of the ladies in this group better and to do another Beth Moore study.  I have done her Esther and  Breaking Free studies and LOVED them.  This time we will be doing:

The other one is going to be a ladies group from Corpus Christi Community Church.  My friend, Lori, and her husband are just launching CCCC.  She and several women will be leading this study and I am sooo excited to learn from them!  We will be meeting at a lady's house in town on Wednesday evenings and Lee is going to have "Daddy Duty" so that I can go by myself!  This group will be studying the book:

I have only read the introduction thus far, but this book is written in a wonderfully candid way.  It is about God's promises to us, what they mean and how encounters with Christ are the fulfillment of His commitment to us.  I can't wait!

So, here's where I admit to the nerd that I have become.  I guess I've always had the tendency when I have a subject I would like to learn more about.  Enter:  Parenting!  So...I am going to share a few of the other books that I have read lately.  This is my most recent one.  I am just finishing this book and ABSOLUTELY love it!  This couple wrote the book, Men are Like Waffles and Women are Like Spaghetti.  I absolutely love them as people and their writing style is very simple and straight forward (perfect for me!).  I'll go even further and add that I think one of the reasons they are so likable is that they are from Texas!  I told Lee that this is a book that I would love to read together with him some time.  The book has ideas on:
- creating character-building opportunities for your kids
- helping your kids make wise decisions
- building a family legacy your children would want to cherish
It is geared towards raising children of either gender, but the examples that they give are from their experiences with their 3 sons...so it is perfect for us (at least at this point in the game)!  They stress the importance of being proactive, intentional and consistent.  Their goal was to raise Godly and responsible men of character, and I couldn't wish more for our son.  This book is:

A few other parenting ones that I have read:

 

These are some that I am hoping to read:
Parenting Isn't For Cowards by James Dobson
Parent's Answer Book by James Dobson
Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson (have this one...just haven't read it yet)



I am not even going to bore you with the list of things that I read when I was pregnant!  I LOVE to read when I have time and it is something that is applicable to a particular season of my life.  Suffice to say....Biochem, Molecular Biology, no thank you.  That stuff I had to bribe myself to read.  You know, now that I think about it...I think the only reason I passed those classes is because I had study groups at my house with really smart people...and I cooked for them.  That's the only way I could get really smart people to hang around with me.  Ha ha.  I catered meals for them in hopes that pieces of their intellect would osmos to me.  I digress.  My apologies.  I also really enjoy reading from an actual book more than a screen and love having the book to go back to and reference anything I may need (you should see my books...highlights, underlines, multi-colored notes, etc.).  Thank the Lord you can buy used books at Half-Priced Books and Amazon for sooo cheap!  (I can't tell you how many I have bought for less than $1!)
Now that I have bored anyone who may still be hanging on TO DEATH...If anyone that reads this has any recommendations on books please share!  Right now, I'm really into the parenting and marriage topics.  Let me know about you!