Happy New Year everyone! Can you believe it’s already 2024?? My mind is reeling! I’m gonna have a 2-year-old this year! It’s insane!
So far, we don’t have any crazy plans for this year. And in keeping with that theme, I don’t have any crazy goals for this year. I’m kinda hoping this will be a rest year, tbh ducks for the inevitable shoe about to drop XD
Well, let’s get into the meat of this post, shall we?
Word of the Year 2024 || Discovery
This year’s word sounds like a contradiction to me wanting to have a rest year, lol! But trust me, this one is perfect for my desires and hopes!
This year, I want to discover ways to improve myself in the areas of my spiritual life, as a wife and mom, reader and writer! These include:
- Discovering ways to draw closer to the Lord through my Bible study and prayer life (something that has been a struggle for me if I’m being perfectly honest!)
- Discovering more ways to make our house a home, making it hospitable to others, but more importantly a safe haven for me and my family ❤
- Discovering methods of mothering from a biblical perspective that will foster a lasting, close relationship between me and Dixie!
- Discovering more ways to strengthen my marriage and serve my husband in my role as his help!
- Discovering more ways to cook and decorate and overall be a well-rounded homemaker.
- Discovering new authors and books to read to myself and Dixie!
- Discovering the direction I want to take with writing. More about that in the goals section XD
Now, you will see that most of this does pretty much cover my goals for the year. But I have some specific actions steps for some of these that I will be sharing below. And some that I will be keeping to myself for the time being ❤
Goals ||
I didn’t set a whole bunch of goals for this year, but I do have a few!
- Read through the Bible, and more devotional/Bible studies!
- Walk more and tone up my core. I don’t have huge goals in this area, but I do want to get in better shape when and if we have another kid and also just to help me keep up with Dixie XD
- Read 500 books: 400 children’s books with Dixie and 100 novels for myself!
- Figure out what I want to do as an author moving forward. I’m not sure exactly what my next step is. For now, I’m planning to write some short stories and read books on writing to help improve my craft. I am shelving The Battle for Heritage Series for the foreseeable future. I have no publishing plans for 2024 as of right now. But if that changes, you will definitely be among the first to know, lol!
- Get the house organized, complete with proper containers XD It’s a pet peeve of mine that our house is never fully organized, so I’m excited to work on this! Declutter and donate, sell or trash what we don’t need!
- Learn to make more meals from scratch. I would like to do one new recipe or one I want to perfect each week.
- I want to learn a new crochet pattern!
What are some goals you are setting for yourself this year?
Top 5 Books of 2023…and 3 Runner-Ups!
Last year Jacob and I read 389 Books to Dixie, and I read 85 novels (this includes children’s chapter books and manga)! I’m gonna give you a few stats on the books I read, plus my top 5 reads and runner-ups!
Of the 85 books I read…
- 1 was a History Book
- 44 were Manga
- 6 were Classics
- 6 were Fantasy
- 3 were Romance
- 12 were Children’s/Middle Grade
- 5 were Non-Fiction/Self-Help
- 4 were Historical Fiction
The rest I can’t classify under a lump label XD
And now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for…
Runner-Up #3 || The Librarian’s Ruse by Thirzah || 4 Stars
- librarians
- fantasy
- assassins
- light romance
- deception
- truth coming to light
- royalty
I loved this book so much! It’s the first in a series and I’m so excited to read more! Definitely wasn’t long enough, lol! I love the mild political intrigue and the lesson on truth coming to light! Also the miscommunication/deception tropes were tossed on their heads and people behaved like mature adults! Finally!
Runner-Up #2 || No Place Like Home by Jess Mastorakos
|| 4 Stars
- best friends
- second chance
- veterans
- country music
- guilt goat
- fake relationship
- happily ever after ❤
A solid opening book to this fun new series, Mrs. Mastorakos has knocked my socks off again! I love military romance and veteran romance is definitely shoving its way up there in the rankings! I love the small town vibes and all the gossipy neighbors, lol. And the guilt goat. Every book needs a guilt goat now , haha!
Runner-Up #1 || As the Crow Flies by Jess Mastorakos
|| 4 Stars
- love from afar
- work place
- veterans
- failed love
- country music
- small town
- hesitation
- pilot dreams
Ever since book one, I’ve been dying for this book and I was so so so not disappointed! The ending was both satisfying and shocking and I cannot wait to read book 4! This one is my favorite in the series so far, so we’ll see if it gets beat this year! Overall, these two deserve some happiness and I’m excited to see their cameos in future books!
Top Read #5 || The Coronation by Olivia Jarmusch || 5 Star
- royal life
- teen band
- disgruntled siblings
- slow burn romance
- paparazzi
- terrorism unmasked
I grew up on the Barbie Princess movies and this book was like a trip back in time to the thrill those films gave me! And with Christian themes and an unexpected plot twist half way in? I’m hooooooked! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series and the new middle grade spin offs!
Top Read #4 || After Our Castle by Kellyn Roth || 5 Stars
- marriage hoops
- mental issues
- sexual sin struggles (not graphic)
- babies
- birth control
- real Christianity
I loved this book and recommend it for any young wife for a common sense, Christian approach on birth control, communication and dealing with friends with mental illness/issues with lust. It is not for young readers, but very very needed on such a taboo topic…
Top Read #3 || Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
|| 5 Stars
- classic
- Canadian lit
- adoption
- found family
- imagination
- trauma response
- close friendships
A few years back, my sister read this book aloud while we were on a road trip. I am so glad I read it again, cause it’s even better second go round. Lots of people make ridiculous claims about this book and reading them gives me a good laugh. This book is an excellent example of being grounded and not losing that spark of imagination!
Top Read #2 || Little Women (Part 1) by Louisa May Alcott
|| 5 Stars
- classic
- sister bonds
- found family
- historical relatability
- excellent mother figure
- personality differences
Please, please, please, if you are a teen or young mom, you need to read this book! I’m currently reading book two, Good Wives (now published as part two of Little Women), and it’s so good so far! If you need some loving, mom advice, this is the book you’ve been waiting for…
Top Read #1 || The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
|| 5 Stars
- classic
- fantasy
- cozy read
- deep friendships
- elves
- better than the movie
Of the three, this is the best book. If Tom Bombadil wasn’t in it, it would probably be in my top five ever, haha! I love the deep friendships and extra details and honestly, it makes a lot more sense than some of the stuff in the movies. Also, the elves are so cool. Not stuff and straight laced. They are friendly and protective.
I think that about wraps everything up! Please share your word of the year, goals and top 5 books in the comments below!!
Happy New Year!
Ryana Lynn
Jer. 29:11
Life of Heritage 
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