Still

 This book.

Stop what you are doing now and treat yourself to this book.

Lauren F. Winner teaches at Duke. She is divorced. She lost her mother. She is honest that life does not always turn out the way you thought it would.

I knew I had found a kindred spirit when she talked about her inability to create masterpieces in the kitchen, her love for doodling prayers, and her affinity for the balcony at church.

"[W]hat I feared most about loneliness [was n]ot being alone, which I often ind perfect and peaceful, but loneliness, which makes me want to die, which makes me think I will die, which I will do anything to avoid feeling" (54). "Sit with the loneliness and ask what the loneliness can do for you" (56).

"I am too lazy to do what's important, or hard, so I stay busy with everything else" (105).
I cannot pinpoint the exact thing that makes me connect and love her writing, but I plan to check out more of her books. My favorite chapter was "A Sunday morning in Massachusetts".

Check it out!

Through a Man's Eyes

Shaunti Feldhahn and Craig Gross partner up to bring women what they want: an inside scoop on what men are thinking. Feldhahn and Gross talk about what goes on in a man's mind and why he is so visual. They cover a variety of topics and do not shy away from tough ones. They include how to address porn and masturbation. They are quick to let you know it is not uncommon to get professional help for relationship problems based on problems like porn.

Because I have read most of Feldhahn's books, men's visual nature is not new to me, but it may shock some women. "Whereas women's memories are tied more to what they felt, men's memories are more tied to what they have seen" (37).

Every woman can benefit from reading this book. While some of it is addressing husbands, we all know men - fathers, brothers, sons, friends. It is important information that might help you communicate better. There's an extensive Q&A section in the back of the book that will help.

I received this book for WaterBrook Multnomah's Blogging for Books. I received this book for free in exchange for a review of the book.

Abba's Child: Brennan Manning

This book is a reminder of the essential relational identity: children of God. Manning's honesty about where he has been in life was refreshing. Manning had a powerful way of uncovering falsehoods and giving the reader resources to replace lies with truth. If you feel like you have lost passion for God, pick up this book and walk alongside Brennan Manning. You're in good company. "In actuality, the cynic is a hurt sentimentalist turned inside out (133).

"Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion" (42).

I highly recommend this book.

I received this book for free from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

July... August...

So I started grad school this summer and have fallen behind on updating this!

Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom was a great read. I got through it by reading the book as well as listening to it. Because there are names and places that I could not pronounce, I would much rather listen to someone else read it to me. Listening to books keeps me on track. It was interesting to read after being in South Africa this summer.

Multiplication is for White People was a book that was required reading for the summer. It is so great to read about education from Lisa Delpit. Her background as an educator and parent is invaluable to the conversation.

Billy Graham wrote a book on the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit: Activating God's Power in Your Life. Let that sink in for a minute. It was a book required for the C.S. Lewis fellows program. It was one of the best books I read for the program.

Loving God When You Don't Love the Church: Opening the Door to Healing was a very real book about the struggle between loving God and loving the Church when you've been hurt. Pretty sure we have all been hurt by the church at some point, but the Church is worth fighting for. The author gave real examples and was a pretty good book to read, especially since I have worked on staff at a few churches.

I Am Because You Are: Another book about education in South Africa. So interesting to read about education. I found this book at the library and was encouraged by how they want to invest in children from conception to career.  

Other People's Children is also by Lisa Delpit. Another great read on education.

Needless to say, these days, my book list is filled with books about education. I'm hoping to read a few good stories every once in a while, but there are a lot of books required for the my grad classes.

Thanks for being patient and understanding!

NYC

So check out this little ditty: http://www.amazon.com/Awkwafinas-NYC-Nora-Lum/dp/0804185360/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441244020&sr=8-1&keywords=NYC+awkwafina

Awkwafina takes us on many random adventures through the five boroughs of NYC.

I'll admit, I've only been to New York City once in high school. There is still a lot of territory left to cover!

I think I might start with Stanton Island, Little Italy, or a day in Central Park. She includes secrets about them all!

I like that she included random things like the best places to take a pee break, top Chinese places, and an adult scavenger hunt through Central Park.

This book is fun to read and includes maps.

The only thing that makes me wonder is what our children will think of the outdated terms she uses and if construction eventually changes any of her routes (she's obviously familiar with each route she describes in the book).

Sometimes she went a little over the top and used unnecessary language, but overall this book is fun for 20-30 somethings looking for a fun weekend in NYC. 

I received this book for WaterBrook Multnomah's Blogging for Books. I received this book for free in exchange for a review of the book.

June Books: halfway through the year!

This month I read two books that were by far some of the BEST I have read this year. One of them deals with racial issues; the other with intimacy in relationships. Both were well written.

The Watsons Go to Birmigham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

This was his first book! I cannot wait to read his other works. This was a brilliant work (and great to read given our past year with racial conflict) to read this year. It follows a family from Flint, Michigan (YEA MICHIGAN!) who travel down South to see their grandma. The family consists of the parents and three kids. The story is written from the perspective of the middle child, a boy named Kenny.

Go read it. It might be the best book you'll read all year.

Scary Close by Donald Miller.

That being said, if you're not interested in that book, do yourself a favor and pick up Scary Close. Everyone needs to read this book. It talks about relationships and intimacy, and given the fact that most adults are in the intimacy vs. isolation phase of life, it was a much needed read.

Donald Miller got married recently, and he shares part of his story with Betsy. I relate to Donald Miller because he's an introvert wanting to have a relationship while struggling to give up alone time.

"At some point, I just stopped trusting people.... If I needed somebody for something, I'd let myself get close but not too close, always keeping my parachute on" (46-47).

My favorite chapter was called "You Will Not Complete Me". "Codependency happens when too much of your sense of validation or security comes from somebody else" (206). "Know who you are and what you want in a relationship, and give people the freedom to be themselves" (207).

The One

 

I had never heard of Ryan and Amanda Leak before reading this book, but I will be checking out their wedding video on YouTube!

Ryan and Amanda work with young adults, and it is very clear to see they are gifted in addressing that audience. They probably wrote with that specific audience in mind, but it would be applicable to people who are older than that age group. I found their story encouraging to read.

"[E]very girl out there deserves to be cherished and loved at the highest level" (Kindle location 394). Ryan makes me realize that there are good guys out there. Girls, do not settle!

This book was encouraging because it shared about their own struggles and successes in their relationship. It is easy to see that they are a team in their writing, ministry, and in life. That teamwork did not come easily -- their relationship and marriage is work!

One thing I appreciated about this book was that at the end of every chapter were three things: One Question to Ask Yourself, One Thing to Remember, and One Thing to Work On.

This book is a book of healing, learning more about yourself (whether you're in a relationship or not), and dealing with past hurts to become the best person you can be to set you up for healthy relationships.

Check this book out! So much good insight into how they navigated the single lifestyle as well as how they transitioned from single to dating to being engaged/married on the same day. God is writing an interesting story through Ryan and Amanda.

I received this book for WaterBrook Multnomah's Blogging for Books. I received this book for free in exchange for a review of the book.