New Year's Eve

My dear one, 

You know I must be missing you if I write two letters in a single day... The hours and minutes left in this year 2016 are few, but my thoughts of you are many. Unlike most, I'm spending the evening quietly, at home, listening to the peaceful music of Ludovico Einaudi. I just finished preparing the Sunday School lesson I must teach tomorrow, after a brisk walk in the chilly evening, and now water for tea is heating on the stove. I have some pumpkin cranberry crackers and goat cheese as an accompanying evening snack... something of a "last celebration" before I begin a Whole30 month tomorrow (no grains, legumes, dairy, or sugar - fun!). January seems to be a good time for a dietary reboot! 

Tallying up the books I read in 2016, Goodreads reports that I completed 34 books, which was 4 more than my goal of 30. Only 4 of the 34 were categorized as fiction. Perhaps I'll set my goal for 2017 as 36 books (3 books per month).

Here's a list of the ones I rated as 5 stars (out of 5) in 2016:

1. Sound in Motion: A Performer's Guide to Greater Musical Expression (David McGill)
2. The Next to Last Word: Service, Hope, and Revival in the Postexilic Prophets (Michael P. V. Barrett)
3. Intelligent Music Teaching: Essays on the Core Principles of Effective Instruction (Robert A. Duke)
4. A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble (Paul David Tripp)
5. The Magnolia Story (Chip and Joanna Gaines)

I wish I could find "book club friends" who are not only interested in insipid fiction. I prefer books that make me think -- either inspiring me or challenging my thinking. I read with pencil in hand, underlining as I go. A friend who borrowed a book from me a few weeks ago no doubt is shaking his head at all my underlined passages. (Or maybe he finds them helpful... One can hope...) When I am in someone's home, my eye always wanders to the bookshelves. I find it intriguing to observe someone's choice in books, which is usually quite revealing of personality, values, and interests. I wonder how many books you and I have in common?

...

Standing at the portal

Of the opening year,

Words of comfort meet us,

Hushing every fear;

Spoken thru the silence

By our Savior’s voice,

Tender, strong and faithful,

Making us rejoice.

Refrain:

Onward, then, and fear not,

Children of the day;

For His Word shall never,

Never pass away.

“I, the Lord, am with thee,

Be thou not afraid;

I will help and strengthen

Be thou not dismayed.

Yea, I will uphold thee

With My own right hand;

Thou art called and chosen

In My sight to stand.”

For the year before us,

O what rich supplies!

For the poor and needy

Living streams shall rise;

For the sad and sinful

Shall His grace abound;

For the faint and feeble

Perfect strength be found.

He will never fail us,

He will not forsake;

For His eternal covenant

He will never break.

Resting on the promise,

What have we to fear?

God is all sufficient

For the coming year.

(Frances Ridley Havergal)

I'm looking forward to being back at my church tomorrow... to singing the timeless hymns and psalms with fellow-saints young and old, to hearing my pastor bring the Word, to dedicating the new year unto the Lord!

A verse for you for 2017: 

"It is the Lord who goes before you. 

He will be with you; 

He will not leave you or forsake you. 

Do not fear or be dismayed." (Deut. 31:8)

Walk with Him, my sweetheart. Trust Him. That is the most important thing you can do. (And it can only bring you closer towards finding me!)

Love always, 

Your Evenstar