I love to read!
It's not too far into a conversation when I ask someone, "What are you reading these days?" My mom has a sweatshirt that says, "So many books, so little time!" I couldn't agree more. Most of the time, I choose to read novels over summer or holiday breaks. This is because I have trouble putting novels down! I devoured The Yada Yada Prayer Group series by Neta Jackson. I loved The Help by Kathryn Stockett and I read all of the books about the Wortham Family (starting with Julia's Hope) by Leisha Kelly in only days. If you haven't read any novels by Susan Meissner, they are all excellent as well.
So, yes, I love novels, but I also love to read people's stories. I read a wonderful memoir called The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure that had great information for this Laura Ingalls Wilder fan, and the love story of Ree Drummond, which read more like a novel than like true events was fabulous: The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels - a Love Story. And, who doesn't love Candace Cameron Bure (D.J. from the "Full House" T.V. show)? She's written a very inspiring book called Reshaping It All that truly motivates one to eat right and exercise. And, then there was an excellent thought-provoking book by Donald Miller called, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I learned to Live a Better Story. So, I would recommend all these books!
But, when it comes right down to it, books that have the biggest impact on me are books you find at a Christian bookstore..... ones that teach you a lessson..... ones that help you live your life differently.
In this post, I want to tell you about MY top 5. I'll list them off first:
#5: Made To Crave by Lysa Terkeurst (2010)
#4: Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman (2010)
#3: Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis (2011)
#2: Choosing Forgiveness by Nancy Leigh DeMoss (2006)
#1: Grace For the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman (2011)
All five of these books have helped shape me and grow me and refresh me this year. But, if you only pick up one, please read Grace for the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman. While reading this book, it was as though Emily already knew me. She knew my anxieties, fears, shame, perfectionistic ways, and my struggles to please everyone. She knew my tendency to hide behind my mask and not live under the umbrella of Grace. That is not what God wants for my life. He wants me to experience freedom, joy, peace, and strength. Believing in Grace makes that possible. I wrote a blog entry on September 9th about my thoughts about Grace. Check it out: http://journalingjennifer.blogspot.com/2012/09/grace-personally.html. My favorite quote from Emily's book is as follows:
"You are not accepted because you are good.
You are free to be good because you are accepted.
You are not responsible to have it all together.
You are free to respond to the One who holds all things in His hands.
You do not have to live up to impossible expectations.
You are free to wait expectantly on Jesus, the One who is both author and perfecter of your faith." (Freeman page 137).
Once God had been working on my own heart to better understand Grace, He sent someone into my life to remind me of the importance of forgiveness. I struggle to forgive people who have hurt me or my loved ones. I don't want to be that way. I know it grieves God when I hold on to unforgiveness. So, I picked up a book I had read years ago when I was struggling to forgive someone else and I read it again, this time with a new focus. Choosing Forgiveness by Nancy Leigh DeMoss is about just that - it's about CHOOSING to forgive. It is a choice. I was not ready to forgive until I had some quality time with God and some pretty strong convincing from Nancy in her book. The two choices had never seemed so cut and dry before.... if I choose not to forgive someone then I am choosing to let all the bitterness and junk and yuck stay inside me and fester. Then that comes out in hurtful ways in my other relationships and in my ability to trust. If I do not forgive, I am choosing to live with poison inside my heart. If I DO forgive, I can be cleansed. I can have a right relationship with God. I can trust the people around me. I can think about those people I have forgiven and not feel sick to my stomach or wish bad things to happen to them! It is a choice. I choose forgiveness. Daily.
Kisses From Katie is one of those books you can read over and over again and find some wonderful new nuggets of inspiration each time. In a nutshell, it is about an 18 year old girl who leaves her "perfect" life in America and chooses to live in Uganda with the 12 children she has adopted. She runs a ministry called Amazima and has helped numerous children and families in Uganda out of poverty. She runs a school and provides meals for a huge amount of children. She runs a sponsorship program for children to be able to live with their families and still attend school. She sells necklaces made by some of the women who live in a very poverty-stricken area, so they can provide for their families. But, above all these wonderful, admirable things that Katie has done, shines her heart. She loves God. She loves her children. She loves all God's people. She is real and vulnerable and able to communicate beautiful thoughts. Her book is not only about her ministry, but about her journey of faith and all the ways God is encouraging her and loving her and growing her. When I read it, I was inspired to love the people around me with new fervor. I was honored that the same God who gives Katie Davis strength and hope and wisdom, is the same God working in my life in Becker. Katie inspires me to look for God in my life and look for opportunities to serve Him.
Another book that inspires me to see God at work in my life is a book by Mary Beth Chapman called, Choosing to See. This too was written by an inspiring woman of God who is real and vulnerable and soft-hearted. She tells her story... from meeting her husband Steven (a Christian singer), to her battle with depression, to her family's decision to adopt children from China, to the reality and pain of losing her youngest daughter in a car accident, and through the whole grieving process and then finding hope again. It is sad and raw and beautiful and healing all in one book. I can never expect to understand the true loss that Mary Beth and Steven went through, but I can be inspired by the way they chose to see God in their lives. They created a ministry to help orphans in China who have medical needs (preventing them from being adopted) called "Maria's Big House of Hope." I was so inspired by their ministry that I wanted to go to China and volunteer (after going to Uganda to volunteer with Katie Davis, of course). Instead I bought a happy green sweatshirt with a drawing on the back done by Maria before she died. It says "SEE" on the front. I am choosing to see God when times are tough, when times are good, and all the times inbetween.
The last book I am going to mention is Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. Personally, I have been struggling to take off the weight I have gained over these last ten years or so! I have read lots of great books with great advice and I am following some of that advice now (I look forward to my snack of an apple each day). But, Lysa's book inspired me to think about my weight loss goals as more than just weight loss goals. I want my body to be a temple where God's Holy Spirit dwells. I want to fill that holy temple with good, healthy foods that nourish my body and keep me healthy. I want to exercise my body to bring down my high blood pressure and high sugar levels. I want positive endorphins rushing to my brain as I exercise and take good care of me. It can be an act of worship. God can give me the strength to say no to that brownie and yes to that salad. He can push me to exercise and stay active. I need to remember that God cares about every aspect of my life. I need to be leaning on Him. He won't fail me. God can satisfy my cravings. This book inspires me to let Him.
HAPPY READING!!
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