Despite my last post about my seemingly absent desire to read, I have read a lot this past month. A lot this past week is more like it. I read Louisa May Alcott's books regarding the March Family in a short 5, maybe 6 days. And that's no joke. I haven't had much else to do. So, I have lost myself in the world of Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy and Laurie. It was wonderful to say the least. And it made me think through some old, yet new thoughts.
For the last few years of high school and all through college, I devoted myself to learning and studying about working with children who tend to be pushed to the outside. Children who tend to be forgotten or given up on by the ones in their lives who can make the most difference. Children who have been classified as at-risk. My degree was in missions and my focus was in children and family ministry. I took classes on child development, crisis intervention/counseling and ministry to children who are at-risk. I thought a lot about what I would want to do with my degree and how I would want to find my place of service in the world. I had a period of time where I seriously considered getting my Masters in Social Work and becoming a case worker. I had a period of time where I seriously considered getting another bachelors in education and becoming a teacher at an inner-city school. And I've always had the thought/desire of working in an orphanage overseas. None of those are really feasible at this point seeing as how I recently got married and moved with my husband to serve together in a church. But those thoughts are slowly starting to take over my thoughts again. Making me dream again. And thankfully, I have a husband who encourages my dreams and doesn't laugh at them or disregard them as nothing, which is a wonderful thing and part of why I love him so much.
Anyway, with reading Little Men and Jo's Boys, my thoughts and dreams from college started coming back. In full force. I haven't been able to stop thinking about how Jo and Fritz worked for years to help the boys and girls who came to Plumfield. They took in children who were orphaned, unwanted by their parents, too unruly for their parents or just needing a different atmosphere to learn and grow in. They had their success stories (Nan, Nat and Dan) and they had their failures (Jack and Ned). They had adventures and trials. And through it all they did it with a strong sense of family and faith. That my friends is exactly how I want to be. I want to use what I learned in college and what I am passionate about, along with my personal beliefs, faith and love of family in order to influence the life of a child for the better. I want to give children and students the chance to turn things around, to know that they are valued and loved, to help them succeed in whatever they put their mind to. I want to make a difference the way Father and Mother Bhaer did, even if they are fictional characters. So, with that said... I am dreaming. I am even including those dreams as I continue to search for a job. Praying that GOD will provide just the right job at just the right time (but hopefully that time will be sooner rather than later).
And with all of that said... here are my end of the month stats for July. Looking forward to taking a bit of a break from the classics again (3 in a row is quite a lot and a bit of a challenge at times). I am going to read a few ministry books. Including one specifically about reaching out to children and students who have been pushed to the side and forgotten.
The books I read in the month of July:
The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien For the last few years of high school and all through college, I devoted myself to learning and studying about working with children who tend to be pushed to the outside. Children who tend to be forgotten or given up on by the ones in their lives who can make the most difference. Children who have been classified as at-risk. My degree was in missions and my focus was in children and family ministry. I took classes on child development, crisis intervention/counseling and ministry to children who are at-risk. I thought a lot about what I would want to do with my degree and how I would want to find my place of service in the world. I had a period of time where I seriously considered getting my Masters in Social Work and becoming a case worker. I had a period of time where I seriously considered getting another bachelors in education and becoming a teacher at an inner-city school. And I've always had the thought/desire of working in an orphanage overseas. None of those are really feasible at this point seeing as how I recently got married and moved with my husband to serve together in a church. But those thoughts are slowly starting to take over my thoughts again. Making me dream again. And thankfully, I have a husband who encourages my dreams and doesn't laugh at them or disregard them as nothing, which is a wonderful thing and part of why I love him so much.
Anyway, with reading Little Men and Jo's Boys, my thoughts and dreams from college started coming back. In full force. I haven't been able to stop thinking about how Jo and Fritz worked for years to help the boys and girls who came to Plumfield. They took in children who were orphaned, unwanted by their parents, too unruly for their parents or just needing a different atmosphere to learn and grow in. They had their success stories (Nan, Nat and Dan) and they had their failures (Jack and Ned). They had adventures and trials. And through it all they did it with a strong sense of family and faith. That my friends is exactly how I want to be. I want to use what I learned in college and what I am passionate about, along with my personal beliefs, faith and love of family in order to influence the life of a child for the better. I want to give children and students the chance to turn things around, to know that they are valued and loved, to help them succeed in whatever they put their mind to. I want to make a difference the way Father and Mother Bhaer did, even if they are fictional characters. So, with that said... I am dreaming. I am even including those dreams as I continue to search for a job. Praying that GOD will provide just the right job at just the right time (but hopefully that time will be sooner rather than later).
And with all of that said... here are my end of the month stats for July. Looking forward to taking a bit of a break from the classics again (3 in a row is quite a lot and a bit of a challenge at times). I am going to read a few ministry books. Including one specifically about reaching out to children and students who have been pushed to the side and forgotten.
The books I read in the month of July:
Journals of Jim Elliot compiled by Elisabeth Elliot (1st half)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott
The number of pages I read in the month of July:
1,756
The number of pages read year-to-date (middle of December 2011 - end of July 2012):
10,202
Number of Classics Club books read so far:
9 of 70
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