The 7-Day Prayer Warrior Experience by Stormie Omartian

 

This was a free download that I got a few years ago, and though it took me some time to get around to it, I am glad that I read this book.  It is only short - a few pages to read each day for 7 days - but I found it helped me to focus back on God and on my prayer-life.

The blurb says:

The 7-Day Prayer Warrior Experience is a free eBook from bestselling author Stormie Omartian, developed using excerpts from Prayer Warrior and Prayer Warrior Prayer and Study Guide. Are you equipped for spiritual battle? Take the next seven days to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Join Stormie as she explains the pieces of armor, what they mean, and how they can help you be a prayer warrior in your spiritual battle. With devotional thoughts, suggested prayers, ways to dig deeper, and opportunities to connect with Stormie and a whole community of prayer warriors, The 7-Day Prayer Warrior Experience will empower you with the truth that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

What I liked about this book, is that to be a good warrior, we need good armour, so rather than focussing on the same quotes about the importance of prayer, this book goes through the armour of Christ from Ephesians and applies that to our prayer life.  At the end of each short chapter, there is a prayer and some suggestions for further reading, so you can go much deeper if you have more time.

I recommend this free book to all Christians.

Weekly Update

 (Ignoring that I seem to be doing them fortnightly atm.)

I weighed myself for the first time since December today and I was only* 94.2kg! (*only, compared to the weight I thought I was.) I am still reading The Diet Trap Solution, and have actually been doing the exercises.

I am also trying to be more mindful about what I am eating.  I am still keeping track of what I eat, but trying to remember to sit at the table and eat slowly.  (Not that I think there is anything wrong with eating not at a table, rather that I tend to do something else at the same time when I'm on the sofa, even if it's watching TV or playing on my phone whilst eating.)

Today I made miso and noodle soup for lunch, which was delicious.  I need to remind myself that taking an extra 5min to cook myself something proper, rather than just having toast and butter, is definitely worth it in terms of taste, calories and nutrition.

Recipe for 2 people (or 4 as starter):

• garlic clove
• shallot/onion
• ginger
• miso paste
• mirin
• tahini
• stock
• green veg
• 1 nest of rice noodles
• boiled egg

Blitz the first 6 ingredients together to form a paste.

Cook the paste for 2-3 min in a saucepan so it is fragrant but not burning.

Add the stock, green veg and noodles and cook for 5-10 min on a gentle simmer.

Dish up into bowls, and serve with a boiled egg on top.

Weekly Update

I have finally finished decorating my study!  Well, the big bits, anyway.  It is painted and has furniture, so though there are a few extra bits and pieces I'm waiting on, it is useable.  And I have been using it all morning, and it is fab!

I have been keeping up tracking my food and exercise. I'm still plowing through the chocolates that I was given for Christmas (I hope I have finished them now) so I've not been dieting as such, merely keeping a note of what I have been consuming.
I am not walking as much as I'd hope, either atm.  I really am quite busy during the day and when it's dark and dreary or wet I cba.  Hopefully the evenings will start to noticeably lighten soon, and that will change.

I have started (re)reading a new book - Diet Trap Solution by Beck and Beck.  I read it before a few years ago, and it's really good.  Very practical, so I need to actually find the time to do some of the exercises, rather than just reading them and moving on.

I have started doing some FutureLearn courses though.  These have been focussed on education, activism and my current course is all about propaganda and mythology.  I managed to do a few in a few days over the Christmas break, but now life is back to normal, I have set aside Monday afternoons to do a week's worth of study of one course (that's usually 2-6 hours, depending on the course).

I still have my book reviews to write, and I'm not reading at all enough compared to what I'd like.  The other half of my room now has a sofa bed in it, so I can hide away up here and read when I want.  The negative of my dog thinking I'm her mum is that she suffers with separation anxiety if she's away from me.  When I'm tutoring, I have her by my feet in this room (she's quieter that way) whereas right now, I have left her downstairs so I can try and build up her tolerance to me not being around ALL the time.  Working from home, I am around most the time, but I already have my own shadow, and I don't need another one, lol.

Weekly Update - Happy New Year!

Today is the first day back to work/school for many people and I'm feeling pleasantly optimistic.  I'm not entirely sure about what, exactly, but it feels good. 
Possibly because I woke up at a decent time this morning so feel like I have loads of time today? 
Possibly that I have nearly finished painting my new room (which will be my study) so I can soon buy some furniture to go in there (I'm using up paint from the house, so have one wall left, which I hope to paint today)? 
Possibly because, admittedly only 4 days in, I have managed to track my eating and exercise every day of the year so far?  I am still not weighing myself, but am trying to ensure that I track everything I consume.  I have also started rereading The Diet Trap Solution by Beck and Beck, as I find this book really practical.

Christmas decorations were taken down yesterday, and though they haven't been put away yet (they need to go into DD1's room, but she's doing pandemic schooling in there atm) the living room looks tidier and more spacious already; and it will look even bigger when the sofa bed is moved into my new room upstairs!

I also bought myself a new toy after Christmas (no, not that kind! Lift your mind from the gutter, lol) - an easy dryer 3000!  Actually, the real name is eezy dry 1300 or something like that, but I think 3000 sounds better, lol.  Our washing machine is a washer dryer, so that means in the winter months (when I can't hang washing outside) I can only wash and dry 1 load of washing each day.  Now, I am getting through a minimum of 2 a day (I may not have done any washing at all over the Christmas period, so have a lot to catch up on...) and there is the added benefit of the house smelling of clean washing.

So, happy 2021.  I pray this year is an improvement on the last one xx

My Books of 2020

I had set myself the challenge on Goodreads to read 70 books this year, and I smashed that by reading over 80! 

Next year, however, I'm going to be setting myself the more modest target of 50 books.  The reason for that is because I'm actually reading less when we're in lockdown!  At the start of Lockdown 1, I was reading a lot - everything had stopped, I was advised to self isolate, and it was sunny, so I was sat in the garden reading lots.  Bliss!  However, I was then told that I shouldn't have been told to self isolate, worked started up again (albeit virtually) and when the girls' dance classes started up, the parents couldn't wait inside, so I was driving more frequently back and forth, rather than waiting in the carpark in the cold, and when we brought our puppy home, I was then using that time to take her for walks - so even less reading.

So, here is my completed list of all the books that I have read this year, with links to my reviews - I have tried to review the books without giving away any spoilers.

Keen-eyed people may note that the last few don't have working links as yet, and that's because I haven't published the reviews yet, but when I do, I'll update this page.

Fiction

• A Flair for Chardonnay by Deborah Garner
• Sons of Encouragement by Francine Rivers
• Assassin's Apprentice and Books 2&3 by Robin Hobb
• Rose of Prophesy by Hope Ann
• The Blade Heir by Daniel Adorno
• Gauntlet of Iniquity and Keep of Dragons by Daniel Adorno
• Broken Halo by Dayo Benson
• Saints and Sinners series Books 2 & 3 by Dayo Benson
• Black Virus and Black Rust by Bobby Adair
• The Magemother by Austin J Bailey
• Murder under Construction by Maddie Cochere
• Tomorrow's Guardian by Richard Denning
• The Lost Heir by E G Foley
• Truthbearer by Hans Erdman
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
• Following His Heart by Donna Fasano
• The Forbidden City by Alexander Grant
• Foreclosed by Traci Tyne Hilton
• Full Circle by Mona Ingram
• Sword Bearer by Teddy Jacobs
• Wind Rider by Teddy Jacobs
• The Grandfather Clock by Jonathan Kile
• Run, Hide, Fight and Hunt by Patti Larsen
• Country Heaven by Ava Miles
• If I didn't Care by Kait Nolan
• The Centurion's Wife by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke
• Ties That Bind by Anne Patrick
• Third Daughter by Susan Kaye Quinn
• The Royals of Dharia, books 2 and 3: Second Daughter and First Daughter
• Rise of the Dragons by Morgan Rice
• The Lanvin Murders by Angela M Sanders
• Incarnation by Jason Tesar
• Plague 99 by Jean Ure
• Stronger Than Magic by Melinda VanLone
• Now, Then and Every When by Rysa Walker
• On Her Own Two Wheels by Stacy Xavier
• Forged In Rage by Sean Young
• The Forever Man: Book 1: Pulse by Craig Zerf
• Trinity of the Truthbearer by Hans Erdman
• Red, Green, Blue and Wolfen by Hans Erdman
• After Days: Affliction or America Falls: Hell Week by Scott Medbury
• Begin Again by Kathryn Shay
• Chosen by D G Swank and the rest of the series

Non-Fiction

• Becoming Fearless by Michelle Aguilar
• No More Diets by Sheila Granger
• The Unschooled Life by Lizi Gambell
• Damage Limitation by Roland Meighan
• Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst
• Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
• Toward a Liberalism by Richard Flathman
• You Can Drop It! by Ilana Muhlstein
• Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure
• Actually Factually by Guy Campbell
• Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy by Steve Mann
• The Ultimate Yorkiepoo Dog Manual by Hoopendale and Moore
• Trim Healthy Mama Plan by Barrett and Allison

Christian Inspirational

• Live Uncaged by Mary DeMuth
• The Fragrance of Crushed Violets by Cathy Bryant
• The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God by D. A. Carson
• Joyful by Toks Adebiyi
• God's Will for our Daily Lives by William J Luke
• A.S.K. God by Andrea G Williams
• The 7 Day Prayer Warrior Experience by Stormie Omartian
• The Daily Message by Eugene Peterson

So that's my list!  The formatting is a bit funny, but I thought 'sod that'.  The point of this post is to highlight the books, so I've left them large.  And yes, there are some books that fit into multiple categories, so I tried to put them in the most relevant one.

I don't have a favourite book of the year, but going through them all again now has reminded me of some pleasant memories.  I hope some of these titles call out to you, and you enjoy reading them as much as I have.

Weekly Update - End of Year

I hope you have all had a good Christmas, despite the difficulties of not seeing friends and family because of Covid.

I had a nice relaxing time with my family and new pup.  We opened presents, ate a late lunch, and relaxed altogether.

Since then, I've started decorating my new room.  As we finished DD1's room, she has now moved up into the attic, and my room has been emptied.  So, I've painted one wall today, and I hope to paint the other three walls tomorrow.  I can then start buying furniture for it.  The biggest thing to go in there is a sofa bed, which we already have, but it'll be moved upstairs and I've got a new cover to go on it, so it will match the rest of the room.

I do need to do my Self-Assessment for my tutoring work.  I've never left it this late before.  I said the same last year, when I finally did it in October.  I just hope that next year, I don't leave it another 3+ months after the date I complete it this year (since the deadline is 31st January!).

After the New Year, I'll start reading up on the Home Ed stuff again, and fighting both locally and nationally.  Having my own work room will help me stay organised.

I still have one book review to write up, and ideally, I'd like to finish 3 of the books that I am currently reading, and write up reviews of those.  I'll then go through the whole year to give a complete list of the 70+books I have read this year.  Next year, I think I will lower the number of books I plan to read to about 50.  Not to say that I don't think I could read that many again, but if I am getting involved in other things, perhaps studying more too, I simply won't have time to read as much as I have done recently.  I am not sitting in the dance studios any more (due to covid) and haven't even finished the MosaiCraft portrait I bought for myself to do over Lockdown1.  Again, this is because I'm not sat waiting much anymore.  On a Tuesday, when I am waiting for an hour and a half, it is dark at the moment, and I have the pup with me, so it wouldn't be wise to do anything as fiddly as MosaiCraft.

I would like to start focussing on getting healthy again in the new year.  I am very aware that I need to get on the waiting list to have my mastectomy before I'm 40 (so I have 18months), and to have the reconstruction I really do want, I need to lose weight.  I have discovered that surgeons differ by how much weight I'd have to lose, so to know for sure, I will need to actually meet with one.  My mental state has enjoyed not weighing myself every day recently, but my clothes are aware that my weight is creeping up, as I expected it would (not least because it always does when I'm not weighing myself).  I find myself wondering if I can incidentally lose weight by focussing on a different area of my health?  What if I simply record what I am eating and how much exercise I am doing?  If I can get past the shame of recording every bite, will just knowing that I will be writing it later, help me focus my thoughts on healthy foods and the impacts that it will have on my health?  Maybe, just maybe.  And when it gets warmer, I do want to take my pup jogging (she likes it when I run with her now, but it isn't as fun for me when I'm wrapped in a big coat, scarf and boots, lol).

So, that's my quick update and vague plans for next year.

I pray that you can enjoy this festive period, and that your 2021 is better than this year has been xxx

Review of Evidence from the Department of Education HED0987

HERE is a link to the information that I am reading through.  It is the written submission to the Education Select Committee as part of their Home Education Inquiry from the Department of Education. I have coloured the background of their words in pale blue, and will keep them in quotation marks.

Again, there is no initial summary, so I'm assuming it is under 3000 words.

The introduction and the first part of the evidence all seems ok.

P5 "The legal context for home education is set out in the Education Act 1996, section 7 of which sets out that the parent of every child of compulsory school age must cause the child to receive efficient HED0987 full-time suitable education, suitable (a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and (b) to any special education either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. The freedom to discharge this duty ‘otherwise’ than by sending a child regularly to school, in other words through home education, is a fundamental component of the right of parents to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children and the Government is committed to preserving it."

P9 "During 2017 and 2018 there was growing concern about indications of a significant growth in home education, and a Private Member’s Bill was introduced by Lord Soley which provided for a home education registration and monitoring scheme. Against this background, the Department undertook a public consultation in April 2018 on home education policy."

P12 "Over 5,000 responses were received to the consultation and the Government response setting out next steps will be published in due course." including mine HERE.

There's lots of information about how the DfE has strengthened guidance regarding how schools should act.  

Then, in P23 "To support parents and children who may be considering, or have already withdrawn their child from school for, elective home education, we remain committed to a registration system for children not in school." What registration scheme? What will it achieve? Why have Home Educators not known about this upcoming change?  In case you've missed it before, HERE's my views on registration.  "More work is required on the practical aspects of delivery and the Government will also be engaging further with the home educating sector. Further details on this will be set out in the Government response to the CNIS consultation." I should bloody well hope that they will be engaging further with the home educating sector, and I hope we can come together to fight this registration scheme.

And the rest is about schools again.

All-in-all, this document sounds like it understands EHE, until it throws in the comment that they are bringing in a registration scheme and are committed to it.  Clearly further work needs to be done by home educators and HE organisations, to see if we can point out the flaws with registration, the additional costs it will incur, and how ultimately, it won't actually achieve anything it sets out to do.