This Bethlehem Budget Book contains two books in one softcover volume: Old Sam, Thoroughbred Trotter (copyright 1955) and Old Sam and the Horse Thieves (copyright 1967).

Old Sam is the story of two young boys (ages 10 and 12) living in the wild Dakota Territory of the 1880s and their crippled – but extremely capable – horse named Old Sam. They are based on the author's own homesteading experiences as a young boy. Although there are similarities in time and location, unlike the Little House books which focus so much on family life, the Old Sam books are more like adventure stories about the two boys and their horse exploring the strange untamed land around them, "hunting" for wild animals and "bad guys" and proving to others how great Old Sam really is. A delightful story even on a very simple level, with many funny and interesting plot twists (I had to re-read favorite chapters aloud to Daddy at dinner time under persistent urging from my children), the book also portrays an important historical look at pioneer life and the author shares wisdom in experiences relating to using one's head, dealing with neighbors and the importance of courage, fortitude and basic competence. Naturally, the book makes especially great reading for boys and horse-lovers. Our family enjoyed this book so much as a read aloud that my husband and I ordered a number of copies for Christmas presents for our godchildren.

The second story focuses on Johnny and Old Sam's role in unraveling the problem of a band of horse-thieves plaguing the neighborhood. Although still quite young, Johnny's competence and fairness earn him the respect of the Sheriff and other important men of the town. A really great story, this is bound to be a family favorite. It is the sort of story that will likely help reluctant readers (especially boys in mid-grade school) learn to appreciate a really good book. It also touches upon some tough questions about fairness and justice that young readers can grapple with alongside the hero of the book.

In the Bethlehem Books catalog, this book is recommended for ages 5 – 10, but I think many of the stories will be appealing even for preschoolers. The stories have been carefully chosen to be interesting to children at the "fairy tale age". Many of the saints chosen are knights and princesses with adventures and lessons to share with your children. Some parents may not like the informality of her story-telling style, but I think most will appreciate using this book to foster an interest in the Saints at a very young age.

The second volume, More Once Upon a Time Saints, brings us more stories of the saints.

Our own Number Seven has read this new picture book aloud to me countless times since I picked it up at the library last week. She loves it! Perhaps it is because the numbers in the story stop at seven... or more likely it is because the book gives the colors personality and emotion, creating interesting twists to a fun story.

Product Description:

Blue is a quiet color. Red’s a hothead who likes to pick on Blue. Yellow, Orange, Green, and Purple don’t like what they see, but what can they do? When no one speaks up, things get out of hand — until One comes along and shows all the colors how to stand up, stand together, and count. As budding young readers learn about numbers, counting, and primary and secondary colors, they also learn about accepting each other's differences and how it sometimes just takes one voice to make everyone count.

A couple of sample pages:

OptimalWork, developed by Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Kevin Majeres, is a method of working that is based on the latest neuroscience. The purpose of this method is to enable us to flourish by connecting our highest ideals with our work. To flourish amidst challenges, we need to train ourselves to control our attitude, attention, and actions. The strategy of OptimalWork is to use our work as a training ground for self-mastery and flourishing. That is, we should fundamentally see work in a new way: as providing the opportunities for us to grow in self-mastery and help others.

To grow in self-mastery, our work should incorporate three principal virtues: order, intensity, and constancy. We bring order into our work by first determining the goal of our session and then laying it out in a series of steps. Intensity involves being fully engaged in our work, which means working without distractions. Constancy requires that we stay on task and deal with distractions by detecting them, releasing them, and re-engaging with the task at hand. 

The actions required to incorporate the aforementioned virtues are reframing, mindfulness, and challenge. In reframing, we discover the hidden, but real opportunity for personal growth in an upcoming challenge. Mindfulness involves focusing one’s attention, generally by concentrating on the sensation of the breath for a few minutes. We should also actively challenge ourselves to work in a new and better way with reference to our highest ideals.

Thus, we incorporate order, intensity, and constancy into our work by practicing reframing, mindfulness, and actively challenging ourselves during work. To do that, Dr. Majeres recommends breaking down the workday into a series of “sprints and breaks”. That is, the day should consist of intense periods of work (approximately one hour), followed by short breaks (10 – 15 min). During these intense hours of work, called “Golden Hours”, we would:

• Set a perimeter so we will not be interrupted or distracted (silence phone, close programs, clear workspace, gather resources, etc.)
• Lay out the steps for the upcoming session.
• Reframe the upcoming task by finding real opportunities for growth. We should identify either how this work is an opportunity to grow in an ideal or who can be helped by it.
• Take 3-4 min to focus our attention on the sensation of the breath.
• Perform the task as planned throughout the hour without giving into distractions. 

The OptimalWork website includes extensive video instruction, featuring the 55-lesson “MasterClass” (each lesson is 5 – 8min long). These lessons instruct users in the OptimalWork method as well as the neuroscience behind it. They also cover topics adjacent to work such as improving sleep, overcoming procrastination, doing regular exercise, etc. Other classes on the website focus on dealing with anxiety and helping others engage challenges. The site also provides short audio clips and tools to help users perform Golden Hours, practice reframing, manage projects, etc. It even has an inventory that allows users to track their progress. 

Personally, I have been using the OptimalWork method for about two years and have found it extremely effective. In particular, the idea of using work as a training ground for personal growth and helping others is highly motivating. I have also taught the method in a one-credit course at Benedictine College to over 130 students. The students have been overwhelmingly positive about the OptimalWork method. Many have described it as “life changing”. Even though the OptimalWork content is secular, the Catholic students at Benedictine easily identify the Catholic principles imbued throughout the program. They are excited to see how the method helps them live out their faith in their daily work. Students who are familiar with the teachings of St. Josemaria Escrivá will see this as a method that is tailor-made to help them sanctify their work. 

Like any method of self-improvement, however, it does require some effort. It is always easier to jump into our work rather than pausing to reframe, focus our attention, plan out the steps of the work, etc. Someone just starting out with the system would need a “premium” subscription, which currently is about $50/mo or $360/yr. Later, one could step down to the “basic” subscription for $12/mo or $95/yr. In addition, a new user would want to utilize the Golden Hour tool on the website, which would necessitate working near a computer with internet access. 

If the OptimalWork method sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend checking out their podcast to get a feel for the content and method: https://optimalwork.com/the-podcast.

Although created for adults, kids from age 13 and up should benefit from this approach as well.