Yay, I'm here! Yesterday decidedly did NOT go as planned, and my blogging time slipped through my fingers like so many grains of sand. Today was better, though still a bit crazy, and that will be the reason that this post will go out much later than usual. Alas.
Today though I wanted to talk about our plans for Live Today Well: St. Francis de Sales's Simple Approach to Holiness. We had talked about making this an Ordinary Time project, and I made a graphic and got all fancy. ;-)
My book came, I excitedly stroked it, checked out the Table of Contents, flipped through it, and did all the happy things I usually do with new books. And I realized that this will take us longer to read than just during this winter Ordinary Time stretch leading up to Lent. We had also talked about doing a separate Lent read-along of a totally different book during that liturgical season. My plan is to read To the Field of Stars: A Pilgrim's Journey to Santiago de Compostela, as my favorite podcaster Fr. Roderick is going to be walking this very pilgrimage this spring. So, by my way of looking at things, we have a few options.
(a) We read 1 chapter per week of Live Today Well. We stick to an Ordinary Time schedule, and break it up between winter Ordinary Time, picking back up after Lent/Easter. During Lent, we would read To the Field of Stars.
(b) We read 1 chapter per week of Live Today Well. We start next week, go all the way through winter Ordinary Time, and continue on into Lent and Easter. We will finish during the last week of April, about 2 weeks into the Easter season. Then we start To The Field of Stars. This timeline works out well for Fr. Roderick's pilgrimage (and he'll be podcasting the whole journey), as he's planning to embark during the Easter season.
(c) We read 2 chapters per week of Live Today Well. We start next week, and take the next 7 weeks to do this, finishing up about 2 weeks into Lent. Then we start either To the Field of Stars, or some other spiritual book.
Thoughts? My inclination would be (b). I don't want to rush Live Today Well. It's not a heavy read, but it's jam packed with information I need right now in my life, and will need all semester. Taking until late April to finish it is very appealing to me, since it spans that full season of my life. I also don't want to break up the flow of our reading and discussions by taking a break from it for Lent. To the Field of Stars, now that I look at it closer (and I don't even know if any of you want to read that along with me, so let me know if you do!), would be a lovely Easter read and would then coincide with his trip to Santiago de Compostela.
I know a bunch of you bought Live Today Well and are planning to read along, so I would love to hear from each and every one of you how you would like to proceed!
*beams*
I vote for option b. After reading the introduction this morning, I've decided this is a book I want to take some time with and one chapter a week sounds like a good pace to me. At this point I don't think I'll join the To The Field of Stars read-a-long. I'd like to make a dent in my owned but unread book collection this year. However if you decide to post about it, I'm sure it would be interesting to read about as I listen to Fr. Roderick's podcasts.
ReplyDeleteHi Melanie! I agree. The chapters are short, but 2 per week seems too rushy to me. I really want to take our time!
DeleteLOVE the graphic you made! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm also leaning toward (b). That would work really well with the flow of my semester and when I start handing the classroom back to my cooperating teacher. I would rather avoid reading 2 chapters per week because I want to take my time with this book, and I'm not crazy about breaking it up before and after Lent/Field of Stars.
Sam, the break up seems awkward, yes? :0 And I really think the material in the book is something you and I could use for our entire teaching semester. Let's linger! :)
DeleteI was going back and forth between (a) and (b) but I like your rationale for plan b. My book came and I've been experiencing that "new book feeling" too...it's like an introduction to a new friend! I am interested in reading the other book as well, Robin
ReplyDeleteHi Robin! ooooo, good to know you're also interested in "To the Field of Stars." Yeah, originally my plan was more along the lines of (a), but when the book arrived and I bonded with it, (b) seems like a winner to me. :)
DeleteI like B... :)
ReplyDeleteGina
Thanks Gina! I'm thinking that's what we're going to go with. Stay tuned for today's post!
DeleteI vote b too. Like to stick with one book at a time for study.
ReplyDeleteDonna, I agree. Looks like (b) is our consensus!
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