Take My Life, and Let It Be

Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise.

Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee.

Take my voice and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from thee.

Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.

- by Frances Ridley Havergal

-----
You have just finished reading Take My Life, and Let It Be.
Connect with me on Twitter and Pinterest.

2021 Reading Challenges

While my overall reading goal in 2021 is to read 100 books, I've decided to also participate in a couple of reading challenges this year.

Last year I participated in the challenges listed below:

The Backlist Challenge 2020
I read 13 books that fit into this category.

Beat the Backlist 2020
I read 14 books that fit into this category.

The Color Coded Challenge
I completed this challenge.

Cruisin' Thru The Cozies Reading Challenge 2020
I was aiming for Level two (Investigator): read 20 cozy mysteries of your choice, and I read 25 total.

European Reading Challenge 2020
I was planning on participating at the "Honeymooner" level, which means I planned to read at least 4 books from Europe, and I completed this challenge.

For the Love of EBooks
My goal was to reach Phase 5 (40+ books). I read a total of 115 books for this category.

Library Love Challenge 2020
I was planning on taking on the "Library Card on Fire" level, which means I planned to read at 60 books that I borrow from my library. I read a total of 66 books for this category.

Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks 2020
I read a total of 124 books, so mission accomplished!

Read It Again, Sam
I was planning on tackling the "A Trip Down Memory Lane" level, which means I planned to reread at least 12 books in 2020 that I've read previously. I only read 9 books in this category.

2020 Modern Mrs. Darcy Challenge
I managed to finish all but one category for this challenge.

Reading Women Challenge
I finished 8 of these categories.

2020 Swords & Stars Reading Challenge
I finished 8 of these categories.

20 for 2020 Reading Challenge
I finished 6 of these categories.

Book Bingo 2020
I finished 12 of these categories.


So, what's up for 2021? Last year I felt a little overwhelmed by the amount of challenges I had picked, so for 2021, I'm going to scale back a bit. Here are the challenges I'm hoping to tackle.

Cruisin' Thru The Cozies Reading Challenge 2021
I'm aiming for Level two (Investigator): read 20 cozy mysteries of your choice.

European Reading Challenge 2021
The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You can participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour. I'm planning on participating at the "Honeymooner" level, which means I plan to read at least 4 books from Europe.

For the Love of EBooks
The person who hosted this challenge in the past is no longer hosting it, but I'm still going to try to read 40+ ebooks this year.

Library Love Challenge 2021
I'm planning on taking on the "Library Card on Fire" level, which means I plan to read at 60 books that I borrow from my library.

2021 Modern Mrs. Darcy Challenge
This year's challenge is a "choose your own adventure" format. Here are the twelve categories I've chosen for this year:
- A book by an author of a different race, ethnicity, or religion than your own
- A book by a local author
- A book about books or reading
- A re-read
- A book recommended by a source you trust
- A book you own but have never read
- A book in translation
- A book published before you were born
- A book about a topic or subject you already love
- A Pulitzer Prize or National Book Award winner
- A book by an author who is new to you
- Three books by the same author


You have just finished reading 2021 Reading Challenges.
Connect with me on Twitter and Pinterest.

Reading and Writing Goals 2021

This past year I had two reading and writing goals. I also participated in a couple of reading challenges.

- Writing: the 500 Words a Day Challenge
2020 was my ninth year participating in this challenge. I've enjoyed it for the past couple of years, and I find it has been helpful to keep me writing consistently, even if not in large chunks all at once.
- Reading: read a total of 100 books

How did I do?
- Writing: I comfortably met my goal for the 500 Words a Day Challenge. Most of this writing was for the classes I teach. I'm really happy with how much I wrote.
- Reading: I did a lot of reading this year. I read a total of 124 books. I'm really happy with that!

What's up for this year?
- Writing: I'm not going to continue this challenge this year. It's served me well the past couple of years, and I will continue to write, I'm just not going to track my writing the same way any more.
- Reading: My plan is to read a total of 100 books this year. This is the same goal that I had for last year. It was a comfortable number for me, and I'm hopeful that I'll be able to reach this number again in 2021.

How about you? Any reading or writing goals for 2021?

-----
You have just finished reading Reading and Writing Goals 2021.
Connect with me on Twitter and Pinterest.

Best of Because He Lives 2020

These are the most popular posts posted here in 2020.
A few posts you may have missed, so check them out.

- 2020 Reading Challenges
- A Follower of the Crucified
- Always be Bold
- Books for Sale
- Spine Labels - Set 47

Happy New Year, dear readers!

-----
You have just finished reading Best of Because He Lives 2020.
Connect with me on Twitter and Pinterest.