Reading, Writing & Pondering

  I was already familiar with Dr. Kelly Flanagan as I read and reviewed his first book, Loveable , in 2017. I remembered finding that book helpful so looked forward to The Road Less Triggered . The Road Less Triggered has a lot of good advice in it for improving your relationships on your own. I think it could also be helpful book to use with a therapist too. Dr. Flanagan divides this book into three parts: Get Calm Get Free Get Connected You have to read  The Road Less Triggered to understand what those three parts really mean.  There are three chapters in each section. Through the stories of others who have followed this advice, the reader can then apply that information to improve their own relationships. Dr. Flanagan especially follows one couple through the book to best see the ups and downs of learning this strategy. The key concept throughout the book is that the reader works to have an open heart. Dr. Flanagan explains how to do that and how to use this concept ...

Have you ever been betrayed by someone you trusted? I think probably many of us have had that happen to us at one time or another or maybe even more than a few times in our lives. Lysa Terkeurst wrote a book dealing with that issue called I Want to Trust You, but I don't . There is also a Bible study workbook to use with it that comes with a streaming video. I have followed Lysa for a lot of years and have read several of her books. I always appreciate her honesty and integrity in writing about her struggles from a Christian perspective. I also think she shares her voice in such a way as to turn the reader towards God and towards having wisdom in their own situations through prayer. I appreciate her honesty in how she shares her story and I also appreciate how she shares that it was not an easy journey to walk. I think her truthful heart and down-to-earth words could be helpful the readers who needs it. Lysa also clearly explains types of abuse and how to talk about the abuse. She...

  We all want to be with someone who "gets us." You Get Me by Gary Chapman and Jen Mickelborough wrote this small book of helps for those familiar with the 5 Love Languages: Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Gifts, Acts of Service and Quality Time. You Get Me starts out with an introduction by both authors and shares a bit about the 5 Love Languages from Gary Chapman. Maybe you or your spouse doesn't have a lot of imagination to come up with ideas to reach out within those love languages. If that is the case, this book offers ideas in each category. At the back of the book there is space to record each thing you did in the categories and any notes that you want to keep about that idea. I think this book is a little pricey for what You Get Me has to offer at the $9.99 retail. I also think the ideas are some basic, standard ideas. I was hoping for something different. At the same time, I think this would be a good gift in a basket along with The 5 Love Languages as a...

It is no secret that life can be stressful. I know a lot of families where both the husband and wife are on the go--and often in different directions. Relaxing and Unwinding together sounds great--but do you have trouble thinking up something different and fun to do? Randy Southern's new book, 52 Uncommon Ways to Unwind Together is full of activities to consider. 52 Uncommon Ways to Unwind Together begins with information related to the five love languages in Gary Chapman's books and he writes the forward to this book to help readers know what those are and how to use them to have a better relationship. Each of these 52 activities is described briefly and then includes directions to "go the extra mile" for a super fun activity and "making it work for you" talks about the best ways to implement the ideas for the activity to work best for your situation. There is also a brief touch on "speaking the right language" to say which love language the...

How do you define Love? How do you find lasting love in our modern culture? Love defined by Kristen Clark and Bethany Baird have written a book to guide single women in to seeing love and relationships the way God sees them. Love Defined is divided in to five parts: Happily Ever Disaster, Bringing Back True Love, Single and Waiting to Mingle, Working Through the Nitty Gritty, and Living Well on this side of the Alter. Clark and Baird are sisters who write throughout this book about their own experiences, as well as the experiences of other people they know. They aren't relationship experts but they are the founders of GirlDefined Ministries and previously authored a book called, Girl Defined . Throughout this book, they share from God's Word as well as their experiences. At the end of each chapter, there is a short study to help readers grow and remember what they are learning. At the end of the book, there are two appendixes: Finding Freedom from Past Sexual Sin and Fif...

I imagine the father of the prodigal son in the Bible (Luke  15:11-32) every day was praying and longing with all his heart for that prodigal to change his ways and come home. I can imagine because I love a prodigal of my own. When You Love a Prodigal: 90 Days of Grace for the Wilderness by Judy Douglass was a book written in process over time. She shares her heart and how God worked in their lives in this book. When You Love a Prodigal has 90 individual reflections written by a woman who traveled through life with a prodigal. In the beginning, she defines "prodigal" so we are all on the same page. She has divided the book in to sections: love, grace, time, rest, trust, prayer, promise, hope, spirit, and gift. Each reading in each section relates to that topic. In the end of the book, her son writes a brief note and she writes a brief note in closing. Douglass shares her heart in When You Love a Prodigal as a mom praying for a son who lived a life for his own pleasu...

Are you looking for a family adventure? Like our family, you probably would like one but you live on a budget so you don't think it is possible. In Randy Southern's new book, 52 Uncommon Family Adventures , there are a bunch of adventures that are fun without breaking the bank. Gary Chapman writes the forward in 52 Uncommon Family Adventures sharing about love languages and how they can come in to play with the adventures. Chapman is the bestselling author of The Five Love Languages which you may have heard of previously. The book has enough adventures to do one a week if you choose to do them all. Each adventure includes information about the time commitment it will take, the cost, the location and the love language that could come in to play through the adventure. Some examples of adventures include a family volunteer day where you all work together to help an organization in need, a family challenge day where you challenge another family in an afternoon of silly compe...

One of the most important thing to me in life is good relationships. At the same time, I think good relationships can be one of the hardest things to maintain in life. If you are looking for ways to help make all kinds of relationships be the best they can be, consider reading Real Life Love by Michael Gibson. Real Life Love is divided in to three parts: Growing in Love for Yourself, Growing in Love for God, and Growing in Love for Others. Gibson shares practical advice throughout the book that he gleaned while studying under his grandfather, relationship expert Gary Smalley. At one point, Gibson says in the book that the entire point of the book is to show you that you can have a true love that is better than what the world tells you to settle for. You are not doomed to a life in which your relationships really don't mean anything. Instead, readers glean seven principles to help their relationships be the best they can be and they also learn that real love comes from Jesus....

People used to tell my mom and I that we looked alike. As we have gotten older, we don't hear that a much. But while we may look alike, we don't always think alike or act alike. That can create some problems. Maybe you have similar struggles with your mom or daughter. Mended by Blythe Daniel and Helen McIntosh was written to help mothers and daughters have a relationship of restoration and healing. Mended is co-written by a mother daughter team. Blythe is the daughter and Helen is the mother. Throughout the book, there are perspectives written by each woman. At the front of the book there is a forward by ministry leader and author Stasi Eldridge.  In each chapter, there is a mix of advice and personal stories from both Helen and Blythe. Helen has a degree in counseling psychology. At the end of each chapter there is an area called Mending Thread with questions to ask and prompts to help you think about how to make your mother-daughter relationship better. There is anothe...

Ten years ago it was Lena Donohue's wedding day. However, to say things didn't go as planned is an understatement. Today, Lena deals with the fall out of her sister and her fiance's betrayal that day. Or rather she tries not to think about the painful memories of the day. Since then, she has moved on with her life and became a successful travel writer in New York City. She stays far away from Watersend, South Carolina where her sister lives, currently married to her former fiance, until Lena's brother calls to let her know she is needed at home. Lena's dad's health is failing. One thing has never changed, Lena loves her dad and would do anything for him. Including going home and facing old memories and people she has avoided for years. The Favorite Daughter is a complex layered story that touched me on several levels. I thought Lena's wrestling with forgiveness was realistic and I could understand why it wouldn't be easy for her to be with her fami...

In reading Becoming Gertrude by Janice Peterson, I felt like I was having lemonade with a dear lady who was sharing her life wisdom with me. Peterson, in this small book, offers gentle guidance to readers about building quality relationships with the people around you. Becoming Gertrude: How Our Friendships Shape Our Faith has a beautiful introduction about the way of spiritual friendship. Peterson starts out the book by explaining what she means by being spiritual friends with someone. She shares personal stories from the heart throughout the book about friendships she has made throughout her life, as well as lonely times without friends and how she went about building friendships. Peterson shares five elements that lead to quality relationships: caring, acceptance, service, hospitality, and encouragement. At the end of each chapter, there are questions and space to write the answers. At the conclusion of Becoming Gertrude, her husband and author Eugene Peterson write ...

When Natalie and her husband got married, like many of us, they had a plan. However, after a few years, God showed them a new plan that was completely different than theirs. Natalie Gwyn shares how her and her husband doubled the size of their family through God's plan of adoption in Okayest Mom . Natalie Gwyn shares her family's story in Okayest Mom starting with when they received God's idea of adding to their family through adoption between her and her husband, and then sharing the idea with her two biological children, and finally sharing how they did indeed adopt four children from Ethiopia and how the early years of that adoption went for them. While this adventure is mostly shared through her eyes, at times she also shares details about this adventure from everyone's point of view throughout the book. She shares the details, the ups and the downs throughout the process. If a reader is looking to adopt, this would be a great book for them to read. Okayest M...