Terribly Interesting

I bought this book in the Birmingham airport a few weeks ago and finished it on our day of travel. It is fantastic. Deeply moving. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather   Morris My rating: 5 of 5 stars I do not usually buy books in airport stores because they are incredibly overpriced. We flew from Birmingham to Chicago to Austin and then drove to Waco. That meant I had 9 hours of travel on my hands. I have been seeing this book and had it on my wish list, but had not picked up a copy. With the recent shooting in the Jewish Synagogue (and Jewish nurse working on the shooter), my heart was pricked to remember the story once again. Angry, empty people are everywhere looking for a target. It’s good to remember the people who stood against atrocity. It’s good to reread the horrific acts and see the hidden heroes in unlikely places. That’s what this is. I had wondered if this was a true story because it says it’s historical fiction. The publisher tells us that the designation...

Are any of the rest of you desperate for good words to pray over your children? Parenting is one of the hardest things I have ever done. From conception to training to loving through pain. Often, I find myself unable to even formulate a decent thought because I am overstimulated. Can you empathize? As I read through these pages, I found myself breathing more deeply than normal. These are the words in my heart that I was too tired to speak. I keep reading them repeatedly. Perhaps you are weary from the battlefield and need some backup artillery. This is it. These are prayers for your arrows to fly true. Prayers for the Battlefield: Staying Momstrong in the Fight for Your Family and Faith by Heidi St. John My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a book that you keep out to read over and over. There are thirty-one topics and prayers in this book and in each one I was moved to pray for myself or someone else. The words resonate. As I would read through the warfare prayers, I would thin...

Three books have spoken deeply to my heart this year. One line in Bob Goff's Everybody Always keeps coming up to me. "What if we weren't afraid anymore?" I have lingered in Dr. Barry C. Black's Nothing to Fear . The Brave Art of Motherhood has been the third installment in my semester of God turning my heart upside down. It's not that I haven't been brave. I have done plenty of things that take gumption. The thing is that I have done those things through fear and they have caused so much pain to release.  I picture myself packaging up presents, leaving them on doorsteps, and running. Maybe no one will know it was me. I want to be brave enough to bear my pain for the healing of others and greater glory of God.  This book grabbed my attention because of three words that I pray for regularly. Brave. Art. Motherhood. I come form the tribe of "I'm not equipped for this." Somehow, with no formal training, I am here. I have realized that de...

The Life-Giving Leader: Learning to Lead from Your Truest Self by Tyler Reagin My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is one of those books that makes you pause and think about the type of person you want to be as well as what is needed from a leader. So often, we see churches being run like businesses. They plow people down to get where they want to go and then blame those other people for the issue. This book challenges that whole mentality. Tyler reminds us that we aren’t here to build our church. We are here to serve and build up people. One of the great goals of leadership is humility. Vulnerability with others is where true connection and life change occurs. I enjoyed reading this and was moved by several ideas in the book. I passed it on to my 11 year old who has tremendous leadership qualities that need to be used for God’s glory. She got a lot out of it and it has opened up some great dialogue for us. With all of that said, there were a few points of the book that seemed like ...

The Daily Question For You and Your Child: A Three Year Spiritual Journal by Waterbrook My rating: 4 of 5 stars It's launch day for this great little book! We received this a few weeks ago. It is supposed to be you and one child, but we decided for all five of us to do it. This has been tons of fun. I thought that some of the questions were silly at first, but then I realized how interesting it would be to see your answers about simple things evolve over the years. I have also learned things about my children...things I wouldn't think to ask. One question was a talent they wished they had and one was something they wished they could learn to cook by themselves. We are doing the things. I'm even learning more about my husband. We do this at a meal time each day. All the girls look forward to answering the daily question. We also had to write a story about a talking grapefruit together one day. We each wrote a line. It was pretty humorous. "Once there was a t...

A Spoonful of Grace: Mealtime Blessings in Bite-Sized Pieces by Annette Hubbell My rating: 4 of 5 stars My girls and I have been reading through this devotional. I wanted to share it with you because it would be a great devotional for the busy back to school time. I was pleasantly surprised with the depth and insight Annette packed into each day's snippet. Each day holds a scripture segment, a prayer, and some thoughts to ponder. She addresses many things our kids need to hear. It is a good reminder to focus first on the word of God and what he desires for us each day. Description: We have been reading it at breakfast. Check it out on Amazon. View all my reviews

The Eternal Current: How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us from Drowning by Aaron Niequist My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have been following The Practice Tribe at Willow Creek for quite some time. I found it fascinating that a church that is your typical contemporary church would invite a liturgical service into their midst. Aaron Niequist said that his heart grew weary of four rocks songs and a hymn on Sunday mornings. He was tired of the pep rally and yearned for his heart to be pastored. Tucked in the pages of this book are ancient practices that makes us better worshippers. They invite us to give our whole selves to God and let him rake us over and rebuild us. Worship is meant to become a prayerful, intentional space. I have hundreds of highlighted notes from this book. I loved so much of me. It challenged me. One of the things Aaron said that stuck with me is that many of us have a wealth of knowledge about the river, but few of us have ever swam in it. “Contemplation b...