Fellow bookworms, this is for you!!
One of my absolute favorite things to do is to curl up with a good book and lose myself in it for a few hours. Not that I have much time to do that anymore, but it’s one thing I try to make time for every month or so. Because it brings rest to my soul and calm to my life. Sometimes you need that, you know? Just a little break from the things waiting on you to do. Because we all know that never goes away! So here’s me helping you take a little time to discover a new book to add to your reading list.
For Moms:
Hands Free Life – Rachel Macey Stafford
If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you know I quote this book right and left. This book is right up my alley because it talks about treasuring the important things that we often take for granted. It’s about taking time to listen to the little voices begging for our attention.
One of my favorite quotes:
A Thousand Gifts – Ann Voskamp
If you don’t like reading stream of consciousness, choppy styles, then you may not want to read this book. But if you can handle it, I highly recommend this book! This is also one that resonates with me, as the main focus of the book is taking time to be thankful for everything. Even the minuscule things and the hard things. Trying to see a gift in every thing we see around us. It’s about “finding joy and gratitue in the midst of deadlines, debt, drama, and daily duties. Because in giving thanks for the life you have, you find yourself living the life you’ve always wanted.”
“Bend the knee and be small and let God give what God chooses to give because He only gives love and whisper a surprised thanks. This is the fuel for joy’s flame. Fullness of joy is discovered only in the emptying of will. And I can empty. I can empty because counting His graces has awakened me to how He cherishes me, holds me, passionately values me. I can empty because I am full of His love. I can trust”
Unglued –Lysa TerKeurst
So I think we can all admit there have been times when something has happened and we have become unglued. We reacted in the moment, and it wasn’t pretty. Unglued covers the four main ways we react to problems, (are you a stuffer or an exploder?) and how we can overcome those. I always love learning about personalities, so that added dimension made it even more enjoyable to me!
One of my favorite quotes:
“I can’t control the things that happen to me each day, but I can control how I think about them. I can say to myself, “I have a choice to have destructive thoughts or constructive thoughts right now. I can wallow in what’s wrong and make things worse, or I can ask God for a better perspective to help me see good even when I don’t feel good.” Indeed, when we gain new perspectives, we can see new ways of thinking”
The Best Yes –Lysa TerKeurst
Being a chronic people pleaser, this was something I needed to read. I needed to realize that saying “yes” to everything was actually affecting me in a negative way. It left me unable to cope with all of my demands and unable to present a godly attitude to people when things got stressful. The Best Yes is about looking down the road to see where your “yes” will lead you, and how we can manage our time wisely. I don’t agree with everything in this book, but there is enough wisdom and truth in it to recommend reading!
There were so many good quotes in this book, I had the hardest time deciding which one I wanted to put here!
“Whenever you say yes to something, there is less of you for something else. Make sure your yes is worth the less.”
Right now I’m currently reading “If Mama Goes South, We’re All Going With Her!” by Lindsey O’Connor. So far it’s been a fabulous read, as Lindsey discusses how we can give when even when we feel empty, how our actions influence our family’s actions and course, and so much more. I can’t give my full review, since I’m not even halfway done with the book, but so far, it looks like I’ll be adding this book to the list as well!
For Everyone:
Love Does – Bob Goff
Stop being afraid to do what scares you. Stop putting things off because you aren’t sure that you are ready. This is what this book is trying to tell you. It’s about letting go of all of the details and just doing it. It’s the perfect book for the Nike symbol. Just do it. You don’t have to do everything perfectly. Love the uncertainty. Love the whimsy of the moment. Stop numbing yourself to all the wonderful things around you. Just live. And live with love. Again, I’m a cautious person, and if I’m scared to do something, I will find all sorts of ways not to do it. But this has helped me take leaps of faith. Because love and adventure are things that are too good to miss out on.
I apologize for the long quote, but read it and you won’t regret it.
“There is only one invitation it would kill me to refuse, yet I’m tempted to turn it down all the time. I get the invitation every morning when I wake up to actually live a life of complete engagement, a life of whimsy, a life where love does. It doesn’t come in an envelope. It’s ushered in by a sunrise, the sound of a bird, or the smell of coffee drifting lazily from the kitchen. It’s the invitation to actually live, to fully participate in this amazing life for one more day. Nobody turns down an invitation to the White House, but I’ve seen plenty of people turn down an invitation to fully live. Turning down this invitation comes in lots of flavors. It looks like numbing yourself or distracting yourself or seeing something really beautiful as just normal. It can also look like refusing the forgive or not being grateful or getting wrapped around the axle with fear and envy. I think every day God sends us an invitation to live and sometimes we forget to show up or get head-faked into thinking we haven’t really been invited. But you see, we have been invited – every day, all over again.”
A Million Miles in a Million Years – Donald Miller
Ever felt stuck? Like you were the most boring person on earth, and all you did was the same thing every day, all day, and there wasn’t any reason to go on living? Donald Miller did, and his book is the story of how he wrote a better story (life) for himself. This isn’t always a happy book. There are times when Donald is quite frank about the times he refused to write a better story for himself and instead chose to wallow in misery and laziness. But it ends on a happy note. 🙂 Life takes effort and sacrifice, and doing things that might scare you a little bit. It’s all about getting a second chance to live life like it’s supposed to be lived.
“God sat over the dark nothing and wrote you and me specifically into the story, and He put us in specifically with the sunsets in the rainstorms as though to say, “Enjoy your place in My story, the very beauty of it means it’s not about you, and in time that will give you comfort… Somehow we realize that great stories are told in conflict, but we are unwilling to embrace the potential greatness of the story we are actually in. We think God is unjust, rather than a master storyteller.”
For Bible Students:
Mere Christianity – C. S. Lewis
I honestly think this might be my favorite book after the Bible. C. S. Lewis just has a way of writing that makes you realize how simple things really are. His parallels and metaphors are beyond compare. He really boils down our existence into proof points that there is a Higher Power, and He does care for us. As far as apologetics go, this one is on top of my list. Rather than arguing for the existence of God from the Bible, he starts with our morality. And this was something that I had never thought of before. Definitely not a book to skim through, because sometimes his choice of words are a bit high, plus being a bit outdated, and I have to re-read them before truly understanding what he’s trying to say.
But this is by far the start of one of my favorite arguments he uses in his book:
“My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?”
Muscle and Shovel – Michael Shank
Annnd another favorite. This is a book to read if you want to learn how to get better at evangelizing. This book follows the story of the author as his beliefs get completely turned around. What he thought was the truth was completely turned upside down after a friend patiently stuck with him and used the Biblical truths to show him where he was wrong. This is a book that needs to be read alongside your Bible. Not as it’s own truth.
“It takes muscle and a shovel to read the Bible. It takes a heart that’s willing to dig. It takes an honest heart that’s willing to lay aside preconceived ideas.”
I could honestly add lots more to this list, like my favorite historical fiction books (which might be too long for anyone to read…) but I would love to add more books to my list! So if you have a favorite, please share! Just type in your favorite books in the comments below, and my ever-growing list will be getting new additions! 🙂
Liked this post? You may also enjoy:
WEST COAST TRIP 2017
LOVE LETTER #2: TO THE TEENAGER
I TAKE LIFE TOO SERIOUSLY
WHERE TO PRINT YOUR PHOTOS
