Finishing well . . . Walking in faith . . .

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Blessed by Booksters

Henningsen Happenings is my spot to land and share my blessings - but as you can see I only had 3 to mention in 2010 and then even less in 2011 - - - I am a bad blogger it seems.  I do have many blessings.

Today in my first ever Dewey's Readathon I received a wonderful blessing!  Good to spend the day with my sister - as books have been a way we have always kept in touch through the years - but also today to meet some new people! 

Cheerleaders are awesome people - so sweet that they hang around and add encouraging words!

Booksters - as I will now call all 462 of you or so that signed up for today - are very intelligent folks!  Some of the challenges were a little above me - :) my knowledge of authors and their books is very limited!  So I was blessed today by being able to see inside the hearts of true readers!

Ready to try this again soon!

Happy Reading!

P.S.  I will be sharing about this readathon to my granddaughter Elaine - she loves to read also.  In fact the first place she wanted to go with me when I saw her last was Barnes and Noble - we had a great time!

Some more of what I learned . . .

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?  The Language of Flowers
2. How many books have you read so far?  4 but only finished 1
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?  The Language of Flowers.  Want to finish this book soon!
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?  Yes I did!  Prepared some food ahead - did some outside yard work - and bought some new yummy coffee beans!
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?  Only self-made naps - I set my alarm on my cell phone so I would wake back up and read!
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?  How fast the day went!
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?   Nope!  It is great!
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?  Would invite my daughter to join me if possible!
9. Are you getting tired yet?  Yes I am tired - but I'm always tired :)
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?  I took a brief refreshing bicycle ride late afternoon for a quick break - he was helpful.

What I have learned so far . . .

I needed a better night's sleep to prepare for the readathon - but my other passion of watching my TV shows kept me up a little later last night.

I took a quick bike ride around our small town of 400 - didn't take long!  Got some fresh air and fed the dogs!  Now I am awake and ready to read on . . .

Thanks for commenting on my blog folks!  That is exciting! 

Now for the Four Golden Rules of Management: 
Rule #1 Trust and Leadership
Rule #2 Communication
Rule #3 Problem solving and decision making
Rule #4 Perseverance and Success

I shared earlier that one of my books for the day is "All I Know About Management I Learned From My Dog"  If you have done either - managed people or owned a half way useful and obedient dog - you can see the connections huh!

Up Early and Excited About It!

1)Where are you reading from today?   I am starting out my morning read with a devotion and Bible reading.  Then I have 7-8 books/magazines picked out and I added a book since I posted last night.  It is called The Worn-Out Woman!!  Oh - and I'm in North Central Kansas if that is what you mean!! :)

2)Three random facts about me…I love to ride my bike!  My sister is also participating today - Tami at Just One More Thing.   I have 2 grown kids and 5 grandkids!

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? 6-8

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?   I am participating for 12 hours this time!  I plan to enjoy peace, quiet, coffee, and later - Taco Soup!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Ready to Read!

At the invitation of my sister, Tami, I am joining in on the Readathon challenge beginning tomorrow morning!  Tami said to gather myself a group of books - some snacks - and get ready to read!  I also noticed that she was canning tomatoes and I'm not sure what else?? in order to settle in guilt-free tomorrow to read a way! Ha!

So - I decided I had best get my Saturday "chore" list done tonight as well.  Lawn furniture is packed away for the winter.  Beautiful flowers are pulled up and thrown in the trash - kind of a sad thing.  I loved them so much!!  Which is the reason I was so thrilled when Tami chose "The Language of Flowers" by Vanessa Diffenbaugh as our T & T (sisters) Book Club selection for October!  It will be my primary focus tomorrow!  UNLIKE my sis - I am a slow reader - with my main problem being that I fall asleep way too quickly when I relax with a good book!  (But - I have a sleep study scheduled for Nov. 8 - so I hope to remedy that problem in the near future!)

This past summer I was blessed by a Digizine - It was recommended by a very dear friend.  It is http://www.kyria.com/ and I love it!  It is a monthly online magazine and contains article after article!  The magazine focuses on a different spiritual discipline each month.  This summer, very appropriately, the first issue was devoted to community - as our little church community is struggling greatly!  The next month it featured service - another great read!  I hope to get some of those articles read and tucked away in my mind for spiritual growth!   (P.S. I also subscribed to Newsweek from the neighborboy's magazine drive - - - I hope to become more intelligent in worldly matters :))

Nancy Leigh DeMoss was also introduced to me this summer - her book "A Place of Quiet Rest" is a great read.   It was on my shelf from a T & T Book Club Selection in March of 2005!!  So it's a re-read!

Have you heard of "Made to Crave"?   Satisfying your deepest desire with God, not food.  Lysa Terkeurst is the author from Proverbs 31 Ministries.   This may or MAY NOT get a look tomorrow depending on my mood!  And then lastly, "All I Know About Management I Learned from My Dog" by Martin P. Levin.  A little more lighthearted - but useful to me in my venture to "manage" 10 women.

Good luck to all readers! Join you in the morning with a great cup of coffee and ready to rumble . . . I mean read! :)