An Introduction - Becki

Hello Cait, Brian, & Sarah (and perhaps more friends throughout the year)! 

My name is Becki. I live in Huntington, Indiana where I serve as a Resident Director at Huntington University. I live with 150 college students who complain about their homework and reading assignments so I ask them questions that they don't want to answer so that they think sometimes out of the classroom. I love to read, but was really burnt out this past fall and had so much psychological noise in my brain that only recently have I been able to really read again. 

Originally I'm from Minneapolis, but I've also lived in Kansas and western Pennsylvania. 

I chose to do this 52 in 52 on my own prior to Sarah's invitation to reflect with you because I think reading is really healthy for me. I think deep thinking is necessary in my life and even though I often neglect it for more practical and immediate needs I know that when it is absent I don't feel as balanced. 

Above is a #shelfie from my office where I often feel overwhelmed with small tasks instead of freedom to read things that matter. I often compromise with online articles or reflecting on small pieces of prose which are designed for me to use with my six Resident Assistants to challenge them in a way that they will find relevant. I'd like to make myself read things that matter that are longer than articles and more fulfilling in many respects. 

I'd like about half of what I read this year to be fiction, because fiction is what my heart loves to write more than anything. Fiction also happens to be what I actually write the least, fourth after lengthy emails, reports, and journal entries. I hope that another large chunk of my reading is about Jesus. I'm leading a small group on spiritual warfare (!) this spring and I hope that reading about Jesus helps me wisely lead the 10 students in that group. 

I'm nervous that I won't complete this goal and so I'm grateful to not be on the journey alone. February is going to be crazy for me (RA hiring) so I have already completed 5 books in preparation! I'll start reflecting soon. Four of them are a series and I will write one post about those.

Blessings to you all! 

52 in 52: the beginning

A small group of people undertaking a challenge to read 52 books in 52 weeks.

Guidelines:

• 52 books in 52 weeks, not necessarily one book a week
• Rereads are allowed (either that you've read before, or over the course of the year)
• Audio books allowed
• When you finish a book, write a short post about the book, what you thought, other reflections
• Label the post with the author, your name, and any themes/genres that apply
• Feel free to add a picture of the book or a link

Let's start with introduction posts--tell a bit about yourself, why you want to do this, excitements or nervousness, what you hope to read. Maybe include a shelfie (snapshot of your bookshelf/things you want to read). :)

Then have at it! Start reading and writing. Go team!