Tracie Miles writes an accessible starting point for adjusting perspectives and making life improvements in Love Life Again: Finding Joy When Life Is Hard. Each chapter covers a topic that includes an application the reader can make after reading. It makes a great discussion book to cover with a partner who wants to reach similar goals, and it may pay off to read only one or two chapters a week to give ample opportunity for applying the concepts. The content mostly stays at a surface level, making it a guide beneficial to anyone. However, for those with mental health issues I would suggest it as a starting point or supplement to licensed therapy. As someone who needs more I still find encouragement and direction from this work because each small step makes a different. It serves as a reminder for some of the everyday tasks I can maintain to keep up my mental hygiene as well as my Christian walk and relationship with God.
Chrystal Evans Hurst’s She’s Still There: Rescuing the Girl in You lays groundwork to help you set and reach goals while standing strongly on your faith. If taken slowly and done with the help of a mentor, it can serve as groundwork for making progress on the path to fulfilling your purpose. Hurst honestly shares her own experiences while providing practical advice regarding how to take action toward making desires into reality, make use of a support system with specific types of encouragement, and keep your focus on the right aspects of life. I have soaked in this information and found myself referencing it again. My accompanying workbook still has exercises to do, and I’d like to go back to the book to instill some concepts I’ve flagged there, most importantly the support system. I recommend this for someone looking for some extra encouragement or ideas on how to structure goal setting and support system creation.
Jamie Ivey vulnerably shares her faith story in If You Only Knew: My Unlikely, Unavoidable Story of Becoming Free. Though raised as a Christian, Ivey’s life took some unexpected turns. She doesn’t sugarcoat her choices and their consequences as she sees where they have taken her, and it shows her courage and faith to face the inevitable judgment again. Overall, the reflection reminds us that we’re not alone in our struggles or doubt. Christians don’t always live up to their expectations of themselves or each other, but that doesn’t mean God doesn’t continue to lift them up again with grace. Ivey’s vulnerability encourages me to trust someone, even if in writing, with my own story. Sharing how God transforms us opens an honest connection where we can all learn how to walk in better faith, and Ivey does that as she invites readers to do the same.
The new romantic comedy Isn’t It Romantic might parody the genre, but it also hints at a truth behind a detail to which Rebel Wilson’s character Natalie initially scoffs. Though arguably unrealistic, romantic comedies remind us of the magic surrounding us. Sure, we may see more of the dull, hard work the movies don’t show, but we do possess a hope to find what we seek. Those desires for romance and fulfillment come naturally, and we have the power to step forward and progress those goals (with some reflection and work of course). Ultimately, we see that life offers more than what we notice everyday.
Natalie wakes up in a romantic comedy where her surroundings seem too good to pass as real. She comments how New York no longer stinks and how it looks as thought it had a beauty filter over it. Flowers surround her as she walks the streets, and people look her in the eye because they notice her. These details can happen outside a romantic comedy. Maybe actual flower arrangements don’t adorn every doorway and table, but beauty exists around us; a stranger or even a loved one can reflect God’s face as they take the time to notice and listen to us. Sometimes a potential love or job we want might stand right in front of us, simply waiting for us to recognize it and step toward it. Looking through a positive lens of hope rather than one of disappointment allows that.
We all desire romance, and that doesn’t mean we live with our head in the clouds. Our hearts naturally long for intimacy, and we see proof of that beauty throughout the bible. Song of Songs expresses the more physical side, and numerous New Testament passages demonstrate the benefits of marriage union and community. Like Natalie eventually discovers in Isn’t It Romantic, we can accept these desires rather than scoff at them. Perhaps the acknowledgement leads to fulfilling them. We possess a hope that brings a romantic comedy like magic to our ordinary lives.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, especially with its Valentine’s Day timing. It proved my philosophy that love does surround us in all its cheesy and intense ways, whether culturally accepted as realistic or not.
For further reading, I recommend this Christianity Today article that describes a hope often overlooked in romantic comedies.
After Edmond Dantes escapes prison, and by extension his wrongful sentence, his identity becomes more complicated. So does the plot. Two men staying in Rome make arrangements to witness an execution, a spectacle that has attracted audiences all over the world throughout history. Tablets arrive informing them of the condemned and their crimes. The details have prominence on signs throughout the area, and they get this visibility under the guise of getting those who see it to pray that the guilty parties repent.
Like those signs pose a positive interest of restoring the guilty parties while really drawing the crowd for entertainment, we too spread not so flattering information about people. Sometimes we share the story with a slant that we want to pray for them too. Maybe sometimes that really holds truth. However, we need to challenge our motives. Are we helping this person in some way by telling their crime? Or do we want to make this person look bad, perhaps making ourselves look better at the same time? Let’s evaluate our speech before it leaves our mouths. We can seek to build others up rather than tear them down to feed our pride. In reality, we all stand guilty. God gives us grace, and we can extend that to others.
“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
I received Every Piece of Me: Shattering Toxic Beliefs and Discovering the Real You by Jerusha Clark from Baker Books in exchange for a review.
This book covers topics every woman needs to reflect upon. Our thinking processes require constant supervision and adjustment, and these chapters remind us what to observe and how to take action. Jerusha Clark takes common struggles and explains how they work, how they affect us, and how we can better align those thoughts to the perspective Jesus teaches. Despite these representing issues most people experience in everyday life, they don’t exactly hold the everyday applicability. The writing style comes off a little dry and slightly inaccessible. However, the message still holds clarity and strength. It even goes a little deeper than some of the more accessible books, so that makes a nice contrast. I recommend this to someone who doesn’t need the warmth other titles offer.
Genesis 9 picks up the story of Noah’s ark as the water finally recedes. Noah and his family get to set foot on dry land, leaving the giant boat at last. God speaks to Noah and makes a covenant with him; the rainbow would serve as a reminder that God keeps His promise.
I’ve read this part of the Bible on a rainy winter day. I too can use a reminder that God fulfills His promises. My days, heart and mind feel foggy and dark, but He maintains His presence with me and shares peace.
These days I read a scripture truth (index) card during each of my prayer and bible and Christian living book reading times. The cards focus on a biblically founded truth to counteract the opposing lie the sinful nature or the devil wants me to believe. Before and after I read Genesis 9 this afternoon, I read Deuteronomy 31:8: “the LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” I may not see a rainbow today, but I can rest assured that God follows through on His promise to stay with me.
If you feel alone or lonely this Christmas season, hold close God’s promises. He stands in your presence, and I pray for you to experience peace.
I recently read Holley Gerth’s Fiercehearted: Live Fully, Love Bravely with my friend Stacie.
I now feel like Holley Gerth is a kindred spirit even though we’ve never met. This book has short chapters that all share a vulnerable, authentic voice and a unique light. Gerth has a perspective on her life that allows her to see God in the seemingly ordinary details of her life, and this allows her to learn from her experiences. As she invites readers into these situations, they too can grow closer to God and recall similar times in their own lives. Gerth’s unassuming openness welcomes readers into a life lived in the light. Now I feel like I can walk with a more confident step.
I highly recommend this book and highly look forward to the next book of hers I read. Fortunately, I’ve got a few on my shelf waiting for me!
I received a copy of Developing Emotionally Mature Leaders: How Emotional Intelligence Can Help Transform Your Ministry by Aubrey Malphurs from Baker Books in exchange for a review.
This book covers a lot of technical information. It carries more the cold feel of a textbook rather than the welcoming warmth of a typical Christian living book, which I partially expected upon starting. I appreciate the effort of explaining the history and definitions of this complex subject. Malphurs describes in-depth without making the information inaccessible to the average person. While this targets church leaders and likely benefits them most, laypeople like myself can make use of this knowledge as well.
While the information remains accessible to the average reader, I find myself wanting more application. An extra insight as to how to use this knowledge properly would have been beneficial. The several appendixes in the back give a good starting point for this with quizzes and extra information. However, an epilogue or something similar with more steps on how to move forward might encourage readers truly to apply this knowledge. Considering “developing” starts the title, it seems like the book hints at going beyond textbook knowledge.
I received a copy of Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan through BookLook Bloggers.
After hearing some ladies in Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club discussing Becoming Mrs. Lewis, I knew I would enjoy it. A new friend of mine and I decided to read it, so I eagerly selected it as my first choice after joining BookLook. This historical fiction novel broadened my knowledge of C.S. Lewis, introduced me to his wife Joy and did not disappoint.
As Joy points out everything starts with words and acknowledges even the bible shares this truth, and her deep friendship with C.S. Lewis, who goes by Jack, begins no differently. She seeks his advice as a new Christian convert, and their letter writing turns into a regular correspondence and later a personal friendship. As a Christian unsure of how to trust God amidst difficult circumstances at home, Joy captures a feeling many have experienced to some extent. She feels lost and unsure how to move forward while still honoring God’s expectations for her. Of course she also desires to feel loved and understood. Both Joy and Jack find a depth to their friendship than broadens their understanding of theology, themselves and life. This grounds their work together as well as the family they ultimately bond.
This story delivers all I anticipated for a good novel about a historical figure who I wanted to know more. The inclusions of letters throughout the narrative gives it a personal feel, and that matches the closeness Jack and Joy feel to each other as they become best friends and work partners on books. Joy’s backstory gives a good understanding of her life and allows me to empathize with her plights. She makes a relatable character, and I find myself dreaming of going to England for some healing and writing inspiration myself. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to live in England during that time, as Lewis regularly meets with Tolkien (Tollers to his friends) and other notable writers and periodically meets with Sayers, not to mention share his literature knowledge at Oxford and Cambridge. I would love to spend a day amongst such great minds! This book gives me a glimpse into two very neat lives and makes me appreciate their writing contributions.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in C.S. Lewis. The writing might not hold the same level as Lewis’s, but the story does have depth that can add to your knowledge bank on such a neat figure. This isn’t my first read revolving around Lewis’s work, and it certainly won’t be the last.
