Reading, Writing & Pondering

Imagine getting out of bed every day and living every day to the fullest. Tim Tebow encourages you and I  to do just that in his new book, This is the Day . Each of the twelve chapters in This is The Day invites readers to learn how to make the most of each day and, most importantly, to make the most of each day in living for God and loving others. He reminds readers to say "I Love You", leave the past behind, say yes, to live with open hands, and to make each day count, among other chapter topics. In each chapter, Tebow offers words of advice along with stories from his life and the lives around him as he encourages readers to make the most of every day of their life. At the end of each chapter, Tebow has a brief section titled, Make This Your Day where he gives ideas on how to live out the chapter precepts and he offers a question to ask yourself as you reflect on how to apply each topic to your own life. I enjoyed This Is The Day . I liked all of Tebow's storie...

Be yourself! We see those reminders to do just that--but then we also feel a pull to be like everyone else in our society. Pull It Off by Julianna Zobrist reminds women that we are all created to be unique individuals and we should indeed, "be ourselves." Pull It Off has a bit of a different writing style from any other book. Zobrist truly has her own voice in this book. She starts out with an introduction of who she is. She has divided the book into three parts: Authority, Identity, and Security. She wants to help women see where the root of their fears start and how they make decisions based on fear instead of listening to God. Then in the indentity section she reminds women that their identity won't be found in their image or their success. Instead, it will be found in living a life of the purpose God made you for and remembering He approves of you regardless of anything else going on. After remembering that God is in your corner, in the security section, Zobrist...

We all have unique gifts from God. In Thoughtfull by Dorena Williamson, children can see what thoughtfulness means and how that trait is one shown by Ahanu, one of the children in the story. On awards, Ahanu is given an award for being thoughtful. Joshua is Ahanu's friend. On the way home from school on the bus, Joshua hears boys making fun of his friend Ahanu and the award. Ahanu has Down's Syndrome and is differently abled. Through the story, Joshua  learns what it means to be thoughtful and how he can best be Ahanu's friend. This sweet story is good to help young children in various ways. Thoughtfull could help children talk about what it means to be differently abled, how to handle bullies, how to be thoughtful and about our feelings in certain situations. In the back of Thoughtfull , there is a Parent Connection page with a Bible verse, something to read from the Bible along with that verse, and questions to think about and talk about together. This is a great b...

I don't know about you, but I remember spending much of my school years trying to "fit in" with everyone else. Being different was not cool. I think it still feels that way when I go on social media and connect with some of those same people. But CJ Casciotta says weird is good and it is important to stand out in his new book, Get Weird . In Get Weird , Casciotta reminds us all that we each were made by our Creator to be different and that every one of us matters. Instead of trying to fit in, he encourages us all to embrace our weirdness and to stand out. He tells us that weirdness is "the essence of creativity, the stuff of movements, and the hope of humanity." This book is divided into three sections: Why are you so weird?, What to make of your weirdness, and How your weirdness will change us. At the back of the book, Casciotta shares his weirdness manifesto. Get Weir d is a book that will definitely appeal to the people who are already marching to the ...

One of the things I truly appreciate about Joyce Meyer is how she combines God's Word with her down-to-earth writing. In Healing the Soul of a Woman, she shares her story, the story of others who have faced challenges, and Scripture to help the reader grow in their own healing from God. Healing the Soul of a Woman guides the reader through healing from past wound and memories. Meyer shares her story in the beginning of the book and refers to her own healing steps throughout the book. She also shares a lot of solid Biblical advice for healing and how to become a healthy, whole person in Christ. In the back of the book, she has two appendixes: The first gives a lot of information on women's rights and treatment and abuse around the world. The Second appendix, Who you are in Christ Jesus, gives statements to read and review from Scripture as you seek to change your thinking into someone who has been healed and redeemed through Christ. At the back of the book, there is an inte...

It is really no secret that Anthony and Marty Hirschler have problems. It seems like everyone in town knows about Marty's sadness at not being able to have children. It also seems to Marty like everyone else in her hometown and Old Order Mennonite community has a family. While Marty continues to grieve her losses, Anthony pours himself into his construction business so he doesn't have to face Marty's sadness. Then an opportunity comes up that gives them the chance to leave the area for a time and face their challenges in a new location without all of those painful reminders. Will their problems get better if they go? Ours For a Season by Kim Vogel Sawyer kept me turning pages until I was done. I didn't want to put it down until I reached the end. Sawyer has a gift with words. I also understand this is her 50th published book. It clearly shows in her work. I found myself pulling for all of the main characters and wanting them all to succeed in their challenges. I a...

Leaving You For Me by Alex Nicollet Delon is one woman's story of leaving her husband after over four decades of marriage and making a new life for herself. Delon married her high school sweetheart and they had three sons while also being business partners and building a successful business. Unfortunately, there were also difficult things going on that she kept a secret. . .until she got the courage to walk away from it all at age 65. Leaving You For Me is one woman's story of her healing journey from a narcissistic husband into becoming her own person. She shares it all  from the challenges of dating again to learning to just be herself again. I was once in a relationship with a similar type person, got out, got counseling and became a new person too. Her story is different than mine, but I think we can always learn something from someone else telling us their story. There are parts of this book that could encourage someone else in a similar difficult position. The one ...

With a title like I'd Rather Be Reading , I knew Anne Bogel was going to be a kindred spirit before I even started reading this book. I had read her blog a few times before but I didn't hang out with her work until I read this book. I'd Rather Be Reading is a series of 21 essays about books and reading. Bogel in general writes about book shelves, book stores, book friends, libraries, and how the books she has read have shaped her. I especially liked the essay, The Books Next Door, where she talked about living next door to a library. It sounds like a book nerd dream come true to me. Book Bossy, How to Organize Your Bookshelves, Bookworm Problems, Book Twins, and I'd Rather Be Reading were some of my other favorite essays but I truly did enjoy them all. I devoured I'd Rather Be Reading over two days because I wanted to stretch out my pleasure and didn't really want this book conversation to end. I really could have just read it in one sitting since I was...

It wasn't snowing this week, but we did have a dark, cool, rainy day that felt a little winterish. It felt close enough to the Christmas season that it was the perfect day to get my tea and curl up and read A Christmas by the Sea by Melody Carlson. A Christmas by the Sea is the story of Wendy and her son Jackson Harper. After Wendy's husband died a few years before from cancer, Wendy was left with mounting debts. Then she inherits her grandparents' cottage in Seaside, Maine. Wendy sees this as a way to finally pay off her debts. However, Jackson sees it as a place to get a fresh start with fresh, new memories. Wendy wants her son to be happy but she doesn't know what else to do. But maybe God has something else in mind? A Christmas by the Sea was a sweet feel-good novella. I enjoyed this story and genuinely liked the characters. However,  I did get a little frustrated by the communication struggles, but I have seen enough poor communication in families around ...

I think for many of us, we don't mean to get ourselves into a pickle or to get discouraged. Life goes along and we are doing the best we can when all of the sudden something else happens that seems to be the thing to totally throw us off balance. The trouble is things were getting a little helter skelter before that but we weren't aware of what was going on. In his new book, Didn't See it Coming by Carey Nieuwhof, he shares 7 challenges that happen to many people as life goes along. Didn't See it Comin g divides "the seven greatest challenges that no one expects and everyone experiences" into parts with two chapters each. The seven greatest challenges are: cynicism, compromise, disconnection, irrelevance, pride, burnout and emptiness. Me just writing what they are doesn't give you much to go on though. You really need to get the book and read Nieuwhof's heartfelt down-to-earth real stories and advice to truly learn anything from this book. I enco...