Faith Spilling Over… Into Everyday Life

Dive into Summer Reading

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summer readingBusy moms are hard-pressed to make time for reading. Too many demands vie for your time. If you’re like me, home school burns you out on books, and the internet lures you in. But reading is a great way to care for yourself.  The physical act of sitting down for some “me-time” with a book is healthy, and books nourish both our spirits and our brains.

The slower pace of summer makes finding time to read easier, so I thought it would be fun if we shared book recommendations today. Here are five books I read in the last year and three books I want to read. I hope you’ll complete this post by leaving a comment to recommend a book for the rest of us!

Five Great Books I Read Last Year:

The “Do What You Can Plan”: 21 Days to Making Any Area of Your Life Better, by Holley Gerth

If you’re working on a goal or trying to make a change in your life, this 52 page e-book will inspire you. Each of the 21 brief chapters starts with a motivational scripture and encourages you to take one baby step that day towards your goal.

Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions, by Lysa TerKeurst

I can’t say enough about this book. Lysa shares honest, personal stories about daily life challenges that threaten to send her off the deep end. It made me feel like I’m not alone. The book offers healthy alternatives for processing emotions. (Are you a stuffer or an exploder?) It’s full of practical wisdom on handling conflict.

Believing God, by Beth Moore

Written in a relaxed, conversational style, this book makes you feel like you’re listening to Beth Moore speak. She shares personal anecdotes as well as examples from scripture. Beth challenges us to combat negative self-talk by asking God to renew our faith and by proclaiming His truth to ourselves.

Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell

Honestly, I only picked this up because it was on my 11th grader’s reading list, but I ended up loving it! Full of fascinating stories, this book will change the way you view success. My biggest takeaway:  realizing that even geniuses must spend countless hours working to achieve their full potential.

How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul, by Ruth Soukup

I’d recommend this to all of my blogging friends. Even if you’re not blogging for profit, the book offers encouragement, expert advice, and down-to-earth practical ideas for pursuing excellence on your blog.

What I’d like to Read Next:

Finding Spiritual Whitespace: Awakening Your Soul to Rest, by Bonnie Gray

Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You, by John Ortberg

You’re Already Amazing: Embracing Who You Are, Becoming all God Created You to Be, by Holley Gerth

What about you?  Can you recommend a book you’ve read lately? Leave a comment and tell us why you liked it.

About these ads

Author: betsydecruz

I want to enjoy the everyday life God is giving me as best I can, even when the road gets bumpy. I love having fun with my teenagers, learning almost anything, and drinking dark roast coffee with my friends.

10 thoughts on “Dive into Summer Reading

  1. I just finished Soul Keeping by John Ortberg! Loved it! I’ve had the “How to blog for Profit” book on my wish list. Glad to know you recommend it!

  2. I think the Lysa TerKeurst book is in our church library — and I remember someone mentioning it on Modern Mrs. Darcy’s blog as a great book. I must go and hunt for it on Sunday; it sounds like something I would really benefit from. The John Ortberg book also sounds excellent; I’ve liked everything I’ve read of his.

    • It’s really a good book about how we process things and react when someone “bumps into our happy,” as she puts it. I bet you could recommend lots of good books yourself, being a writing instructor. :-)

  3. Thanks for the suggestions! I’m reading Reshaping it all by Candace Cameron Bure, and The Virtuous Life of a Christ Centered Wife by Darlene Schacht.

  4. I’m going to check out your recommendations on Amazon! Reading is my favorite thing to do, but finding time for it is not easy. Usually my lunch break at work is pretty much the only opportunity I have. My daughter is a voracious reader also. Because she is 13, she enjoys young adult series. I am concerned about her reading things that may be inappropriate, so I like to read them first to make sure they’re okay for her. Surprisingly, I find I enjoy her choices very much!

    • I like YA fiction, too, when I read it Deborah. I know what you mean about being concerned about what your kids are reading. I am too, but I’ve come to grips with the fact that I can’t read everything first for 2 teens who both read a lot (when I already have a bunch of reading for home school.) I glance at things briefly, and PRAY that God will give them tender consciences, that they’ll put down what’s inappropriate. I admire you for pre-reading your daughter’s books. (My son reads a lot of classics, so I’m fairly safe there…)

  5. This spring I read Broken Down House by David Paul Tripp. It is actually just $1.99 on kindle right now. I want to read it again since I think I missed a lot my first time through. I use to read more of my teen’s books but can’t keep up either. Between my husband and I, we are able to read alot of them. I find the reviews on amazon to be a good help as well as recommendations from trusted sources. Thankfully, our daughter does a good job of letting me know and stopping if we get a book by accident that is not what we like to read. I liked your recommendations and have put them on my to read list that is way too long. Many blessings. TJ

    • Hi TJ! I was just thinking to myself that I wanted to visit your blog. I’ll check out Broken Down House. Love those Kindle specials. I like Amazon reviews too, and love the “look inside this book” feature. Blessings.

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