Then I pray to you, O LORD.
I say, “You are my place of refuge.
You are all I really want in life.
~Psalm 142:5, NLT ♥️🌿
Refuge ♥️🌿 {Day 55}
Category: Whole Person Work
Six in Six 🌸📚☕️ {Day 54}
I’ve enjoyed Jessica’s blog for awhile now and I saw she was joining in a bookish blog hop about our 2026 reading! I used to blog hop a lot and really enjoyed linking up with others over a common topic. 😍 I’m joining her at Words & Peace for this reading meme reflecting about your first six months of reading.
Instructions from Emma at Words & Peace:
In 2021, Jo at The Book Jotter started hosting the meme Six in Six.
She stopped blogging in 2025, so I have decided to host it myself.What is 6 in 6?
The idea is to look back at the books you have read so far in the six months of this year.
Now, I love plays with numbers, so I’m extending this meme:
you can post any time in July, or as early as 6/6, June 6th.What do you post?
Choose 6 books in 6 categories.
You can come up with your own category, or choose among the following examples (copied from Jo’s blog):
- Six new authors to me
- Six authors I have read before
- Six authors I am looking forward to reading more of
- Six books I have enjoyed the most
- Six books I was disappointed with
- Six series of books read or started
- Six authors I read last year – but not so far this year
- Six books that took me on extraordinary journeys
- Six books that took me by the hand and led me into the past
- Six books from the past that drew me back there
- Six books from authors I know will never let me down
- Six books I must mention that don’t fit nicely into any category
- Six books I started in the first six months of the year and was still caught up with in July
- Six trips to Europe
- Six blogging events I enjoyed
- Six bookish things I’m looking forward to
- Six Espionage or Historical Novels I enjoyed
- Six Cool Classics
- Six Non-US/Non-British Authors
- Six From the Non-Fiction Shelf
- Six books that didn’t live up to expectations
- Six books that I had one or two problems with but am still glad I tried
- Six books that are related to The Great War or Second World War
- Six bookshops I have visited
- Six books I’ve read in an English translation
- Six books which are better than the film
- Six books which are worse than the film
- Six books that have sport as their major theme
- Six favourite places to read
- Six books read on kindle and then went and bought an actual copy
- Six books I abandoned
- Six classics I have read
- Six books I have read on my Kindle
- Six physical books I have read
- Six book covers I love
- Six book covers that bear no resemblance to the story contained within
- Six books to read to avoid politics
- Six books I have read but not reviewed
- Six books I have read in lockdown
- Six classic mysteries
- Six books about Royalty
- Six pretty book covers
- Six books set in a country other than my own
- Six books that feature a Pandemic
- Six books that are great when self-isolating
- Six books recently added to my wish list
- Six mysteries, thrillers or crime novels NOT by Agatha Christie
- Six books with titles connected to rivers, seas and storms
- Six nature related books
- Six books about Librarians and Libraries
- Six books I really want to buy in the next six months
- Six books that feature a building in the title
My categories I’ve chosen to share about are:
- Six favorite genres so far
- Six favorite reads so far in 2026
- Six favorite Booktube Readathons
- Six New-to-Me Authors
- Six Mysteries I loved
- Six Books I Read from My Shelf
My Six Favorite Genres: (many are a mixture of these below! I’m such an eclectic reader!)
- Fairytale/Classic Retellings
- Fantasy
- Historical Fiction
- Mystery
- Young Adult
- Middle Grade
My Six Favorite Reads so far 2026 (so hard to choose!)
- The Secret of Honeycake by Kimberly Newton Fusco (beautiful, heartwarming Middle Grade)
- The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas (gorgeous, Biblical Historical Fiction)
- The Will of Many by James Islington (wonderful epic Historical Fantasy)
- Through Rushing Waters by Catherine Richmond (Heartbreaking Historical Fiction)
- Mistress Pat by L.M. Montgomery (beautifully written classic)
- Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw (classic fantasy story of an underdog!)
My Six Favorite Booktube Readathons So Far this Year: (You can still join these! I don’t follow the monthly prompts, I just fill them in as I go!)
- Jurassic Reading Challenge
- Read Your Bookshelf Challenge
- Journey Through Time Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
- Passport to Summer Reading
- Summertime Bingo
- Summer Book Bingo
Six New-to-Me Authors
- Carrie Cotten, Christian Fantasy, The Huntress
- Derin R. Hicks, Middle Grade, Shakespeare Mystery Duo-logy
- Kate Stradling, Cozy Fantasy, Deathmark
- Sheri Cobb South, Regency Romance, The Weaver Takes a Wife
- Lloyd C. Douglas, Biblical Historical Fiction, The Robe
- Michael Perry, Memoir, Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time
Six Mysteries I have enjoyed :
- Death in a Strange Country (and Quietly In Their Sleep) by Donna Leon (Commisario Brunetti Series)
- For Whom the Book Tolls by Laura Gail Black (cozy mystery)
- Breach of Trust by DiAnn Mills (Romantic Suspense Mystery Thriller)
- Alex Rider: Scorpio (and Snakehead) by Anthony Horowitz (mystery/spy thriller series)
- Dead in the Water by Denise Swanson (small town mystery)
- Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave (and sequel Tower of Five Orders) by Deron R. Hicks (Middle Grade)
Six Books I actually Read from My Own Shelf (Physical/Kindle Shelf):
- Caddie Woodlawn (reread) by Carol Ryrie Brink (Middle Grade Historical Fiction)
- Fatal Fudge Swirl by Meri Allen (Cozy Mystery)
- This is Happiness by Niall Williams (hauntingly beautiful Historical Fiction)
- The Road Past Altamont by Gabrielle Roy (beautiful book in translation about Mother/Daughter relationships)
- Followed by Frost by Charlie N. Holmberg (charming reimagining of Disney’s Frozen, YA Fantasy)
- Persuasion (reread) by Jane Austen (Regency)
How has your reading year been so far? 📚📖
Wonderful words from web for wandering through … {Day 53}
May Reading Journal 📖📓 {Day 50}
My cat May decorations ended up being fun!🤩
Reading and journaling bring me so much joy 🥹 so the marriage of the two is a double dose! I don’t really plan, but just go with whatever is inspiring me in my sticker/washi stash. I had a kind of slow start to my reading in the beginning of May, my reading mood was changing, had some meh/ok-ish reads at the start. I pretty much hated Date with Danger! 🤣 The end of the month reading though was amazing! I loved all the Middle Grade reads for a small readathon on Booktube called Middle Grade May! Especially, Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave and its sequel, Tower of the Five Orders by Deron R. Hicks. I really enjoyed the Christian historical light fantasy, The Huntress, also. Honorable mention goes to The Little House in the Highlands which is based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s ancestors. It was a slow start but SO cute! I made some good progress on my newest bingo boards I printed off from Pinterest, also. Georgette Heyer is hit or miss for me, but I loved two of her Regency romances, Arabella and Sylvester. Overall, a great reading month.
What are you reading or creating? 😍♥️
Monday Ponderings ~ Happy June~ 🌲🌿🌱🍃 {Day 49}
Starting a bit of a June challenge for myself! June is my birthday month so I want to gift myself health, beauty, relationships, and simple routines. I’m putting this here for additional accountability and encouragement! It’s never too late to start again.
♥️🌲🌿🌱🍃♥️
Preparation {Day 48} 🌸
Every day is a preparation for death. By realizing this, it helps somehow, because we each have to die a little each day. Death is nothing except going back to Him, where He is and where we belong. ♥️
~ Mother Teresa, Do Something Beautiful for God
Moments {Day 44} ✨
•Barnes & Noble meandering• grottos with gorgeous color • THREE delicious coffees in 2 days• baby robin on my hubby’s knee•flowers everywhere•warm sunshine•turquoise earrings, red bandanna, and jean jacket•succulents in crevices•deep purple everywhere• flat and rolling fields, endless sky•
Just around the corner…{Day 41} 🩷💜🤍🧚
I had so much fun 🤩 setting up my June reading pages and I’m looking forward to filling the pages with mini reviews and book covers from my reading. It was nice to sit and just rest in a teeny bit of creativity!
How are you!? Have you been creating anything or reading/watching anything great? 💜
Walking & Words {Day 36}
Boredom is not a condition to be feared or avoided. Instead, it is a crucial element that fosters creativity, independence, and self-discovery among children. Boredom challenges children to engage with their inner world, to invent, and to explore, thereby laying the groundwork for a lifetime of learning and innovation. We must not shield our children from boredom but instead embrace it as a powerful catalyst for growth. It is essential to resist the cultural pressure to fill every moment of a child’s day with structured activities and digital distractions. Instead, we should provide spaces and opportunities for them to experience the fruitful solitude that boredom can offer.
~Ginny Yurich
Wednesday Wonders {Day 34} 🌿♥️
•listening•
I’ve been mainly listening to two audiobooks when on walks or cooking.
I’ve also listened to a little Booktube and music. I heard an Oriole singing above us when my little boys, daughter’s finance and I where sitting at the campfire. It was beautiful!
•watching•
Spring burst out around us! It’s glorious! My daughter and her relationship! They were able to visit Mother’s Day weekend and it was so good to visit.
•reading•
We are finishing up a lot of our school books as we need to be done early this year! My two little boys and I are almost finished with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and we laughed so hard at the preachy Ompaloompa songs. 😂 I just finished a raw, realistic historical fiction about a woman’s journey to true faith as she struggles to survive on the Dakota prairies. Spring for Susannah is my second Catherine Richmond and it won’t be my last.
•noticing•
I am noticing how much we are asked to trust and let go of as Christ-followers, women, mothers, sisters, and friends! I find myself drowning if I hold on too tight and try to control out of fear. I’m noticing I need to choose to surrender to the Lord.
How about you? What are you listening to, watching, reading, and noticing?
I’m trying to keep going with my 100 Day Project even though my posts aren’t always perfectly consecutive! Life gets life-y! Thanks for commenting and sharing your thoughts with me on this journey!
🌿♥️🌲
•pause• 🌿 {Day 28}
Wednesday Wonders {Day 21}
•listening• ♥️🌲~
The sound of water trickling (we call the above stream the Withywindle), birds, wind, and I’m getting more audiobook time from walking and driving an hour away for a monthly book club. I have Mistress Pat by L. M. Montgomery and The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears going. The Pears book is an art mystery thriller, it’s a bit info-dumpy, but I love the art fraud case and Rome setting. Two police are helping an art historian unravel the mystery. It’s a series so if I end up liking this one enough, I can go on!
•watching• ♥️🌲 ~ I’m so enjoying checking my daffodils and the tree buds etc for any growth and changes. I did really enjoy this LOVELY journaling YouTube video recently. I was inspired to create my May reading pages. They look 👀 nothing like 😆 some of these gals I watch, but I had fun all the same. I used some kitty washi I had and a Pusheen stamp set we had laying around. I also found some more fun cute reading bingo boards on Pinterest. I find it so satisfying to fill them in here and there.
•reading• ♥️🌲~
I mentioned the two audiobooks I’m enjoying 👆, but currently, I have SO many books on the stack. I think I’m most enjoying spy/thriller/mystery archaeology type adventure stories 😆😂 with a healthy dose of classic, comfort reads. Very strange combo, I know, but I’m definitely eclectic! Below are a few ones I’m throughly enjoying.
•noticing• ♥️🌲~ We have a lot of Bloodroot blooming along the field and road edges. The Robins, Killdeers, and Red-winged Blackbirds have been vocal! I’ve had two Eastern Bluebird sightings which of course fills me with happiness. 😆💙🧡🤍 We saw the male American Goldfinches donning their yellow jackets! 💛🥰 We are testing our observations on the Barn Swallows. They usually are back around my daughter’s birthday and it’s this weekend (17!) so it will be fascinating if we see them! I’ll let you know! I loved seeing my youngest get to ride a horse this past week for the first time. He wasn’t sure but then really enjoyed it. 🐴
What have you been listening to, reading, watching, noticing? I’d really love to hear! ♥️🌲🥰
A.M. Pine - Hearth Ridge Reflections 