The Common Rule

Many readers who have encountered Earley's website https://www.thecommonrule.org/ may wonder why they need to read the book The Common Rule when the information is available online for free. There are several reasons this book by Justin Whitmel Earley is an important investment. I personally found that the website provides just the basic what of Earley's habits. However, his book does a marvelous job of fleshing out the why behind the daily and weekly habits as well as how to incorporate the habits into your life. The chapter on each habit provides some background information on why the habit is important both from a research standpoint and via stories from Earley's own experiences.. Earley does not sugar coat his experiences but honestly shares how these habits became a core part of his life and what his life was like before he developed this rule of life. Earley then provides suggestions on making the habit a part of your life including examples on various ways the habit could be implemented. Several books are also listed for further reading. Earley also provides several suggestions to help various individuals such as parents, full time workers, and creative implement the rule and suggestions for how small groups may utilize the rule together.

In summary, The Common Rule is an interesting mix of part Christian spiritual disciplines/self-help and part spiritual memoir. Individuals or small groups who desire to add structure to their lives will find this a helpful book to do so.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the book The Common Rule from IVP via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Adolesence Shouldn't be a Pressure Cooker

Having previously read Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood by Dr. Lisa D'Amour, when I had the opportunity to read her newest book Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls I knew I needed to do so.

Anyone who has teen girls or is around teen girls on a regular basis will immediately connect with this title. Keep in mind we are not saying that teen boys aren't under pressure but that it is intensified with teen girls. Parents and mentors want to find the right thing to say that will encourage girls and help them as well as teach them how to handle things on their own but too often feel that you are stepping on a land mine. Dr. D'Amour takes parents and other adults under her wing and gently shares what we can say and do that will help teen girls learn to handle situations in a mature, adult way. I really enjoy how D'Amour emphasizes teaching and coaching girls through the thought process and having them take the lead on what to do.

D'Amour brings to the book years of experience in clinical psychology and her role at Laurel School for girls and private psychotherapy. Her experience shines through as she brings numerous examples of specific situations that have come up in her practice. D'Amour does write from a secular perspective and not all readers will agree with everything she writes. However, even when I did not agree with her perspective (ie premarital sex), her discussion of the topic raised issues I had not considered when broaching this topic.

Under Pressure is highly recommended for numerous audiences. Parents need to have a copy handy to reference often. Teachers, youth ministers, and anyone else who works with pre-teens on up will also find this resource very useful. Counselors and therapists who work with teens and parents will also desire to have a copy to loan out to parents. This book and D'Amour's previous title Untangled, also belong in every public library.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the book Under Pressure from Ballantine via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

January Re-Cap

Like many people, I started 2019 with grandiose ideas about things I planned to do and accomplish. So, now that January is a memory and February is upon us, it is time to see how those plans went.

Planner/Organization: This year I've selected two print your own planners to use. I'm using the Print and Go planner for personal/home use and the Momentum Planner for work. The Print and Go Planner has am emphasis on meal planning so I've been doing a really good job on planning dinners. I've also been doing a better job of planning my lunches which I usually take to work. My kids eat at school and my husband plans his own lunches so they are on their own. I hope to work into planning breakfast as well. The planning pages also have a spot for "To Do This Week" which I've re-imagined as "What am I going to wear." I have found it very helpful to plan my outfits according to my calendar and the weather. I've found myself wearing a wider variety of outfits instead of grabbing the same things all of the time.

Physical Health: Like many people, I want to improve my health. So far in January, I've been eating better because I'm planning my meals. The biggest change I've made has been in my what I'm drinking. I worked really hard in January to drink water instead of my typical diet coke or coke zero. While I didn't go completely soda free, I can count on one hand the number of times I had any soda during the month of January which I a huge victory for me. I'm hoping to keep it up and truly drink soda only for special occasions. My downfall during this month has been my exercise. I started out well but then dropped off after having a sick day. I'm hoping February will get me back on track.

Spiritual Life: I've been tackling several different options for my spiritual life this year. When the year began I decided I wanted to be more intentional about my Bible reading. So I planned to read through the Bible using The Books of the Bible which is the Bible without chapter and verse numbers. It's designed to simply read like a book. However, my church then announced a plan to read through the New Testament using a chapter a day format with weekends off. I decided to use the New Testament plan for daily reading as I am reading with a larger group of people. I'm also reading with my family and we have a text group where we give a brief "what did we learn" or "what stuck out" synopsis of each day's reading. I'm still using The Books of the Bible to sit down and read larger chunks of scripture and plan to read it entirely during this year but at a slower pace.

I'm also using two devotional books. One is a weekly devotional geared around the lectionary/church year titled Ancient Christian Devotional: A Year of Weekly Reading Lectionary Cycle C from InterVarsity Press. My church doesn't follow the lectionary but I am finding this resource very useful as it lists the readings for each week and has excerpts from various church fathers. Sometimes I read this on Sunday afternoon or another day early in the week. For daily devotions, I'm reading A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants by Upper Room Books. This resource is also centered around the lectionary but has daily scripture readings listed for all three lectionary years as well as excerpts from a variety of books. I will admit while I try for daily Monday through Saturday, sometimes I double-up when I have missed a day. Fortunately, with several different plans, I am in God's word at some point each day. These resources and several others also provide a variety of prayer prompts each day.

Beyond these three items, there are a variety of items on my "hope to do" list such as various things to read and subjects to learn about, potential writing projects, and a variety of other things. I also continually try to get our home in order but that's a post for another day. For now, my February plans are to reboot my exercise plan, continue to plan my meals and clothes, and to be in the Word consistently.

How was your January and what are you goals for February? I'd love to hear how your 2019 is going!