I’ve been taking an online class called Morning Time for Moms with Cindy Rollins, and I’m inspired to create my own monthly morning time schedule or list of readings, music, art and other lovely things to study and enjoy for the month of July. If any of you would like to join me as I read these books, listen to (and sometimes sing) the music, study and appreciate the art, pray the prayers, and so on, you are welcome.

• Psalm 121. I am already memorizing this psalm by reading it aloud daily for the Morning Time class. So this is just a continuation. I’ll choose a new psalm to pray and memorize for August.
• Bible reading: Titus, Philemon, Hebrews , and James. These books have a total of 22 chapters, so I’ll read one chapter a day and have plenty of time to finish these letters by the end of July.
• Artist: Johannes Vermeer. This artist is the one we’ve been looking at in the Morning Time class, and I plan to keep on enjoying his work through the month of July.
• Music: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (ditto, continuing)
• Poetry: John Milton. I’ll probably post several poems by Milton during the month of July.
• Hymn: “I Sing the Mighty Power of God” by Isaac Watts. Mr. Watts, a prolific hymn writer, was born on July 17, 1674.
• Folk Song: “Wildwood Flower” (The Carter Family and others)
• Fiction: Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. My sister and I started this book at the beginning of the year, got through Book the First, and then the reading somehow fell apart. If I read two chapters a day, I can finish the book in July.

• Nonfiction: Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn. I’ve already started this biography of Ms. Elliot, author and missionary, and I’m reading just a chapter or so a day. I should be able to finish this book also by the end of the month.
• Movie: In the Heights My daughter assured me that I would enjoy this movie. (Not in the mornings, but probably some Friday evening in July.)
• Nature focus: Leaves. I hope to draw some leaves and try to identify various trees in my neighborhood by studying the leaves as I go on a brief (hot) walk each day.
• Prayer focus: The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian. I already prayed through the book, The Power of a Praying Parent, and I’m ready to spend a month praying specifically for my wonderful Engineer Husband.
• Shakespeare: Twelfth Night or Romeo and Juliet or Richard III. These are the plays that are on tap this summer at Shakespeare at Winedale, and I’d like to get some friends together and read through one of these three plays as well as go to the performances of all three at Winedale. We’ll see if I can work that out.

I’ll also be reading a couple of short stories along with the podcast The Literary Life, finishing up Cindy’s class, and reading lots of 2021 middle grade fiction. I hope to post about all of my “schola” adventures here at Semicolon. Stay tuned.