BUT I've started reading at night with a little reading light once Josh has gone to sleep (which is EARLY these days) and I just read until I'm tired which has led to two things:
1. Surprisingly, I'm getting a lot more reading done.
2. I have a much easier time falling asleep!
Reading ALWAYS makes me sleepy, whether it's 10am, 3pm, or bedtime...which is why I avoid it most afternoons in favor of accomplishing other chores and tasks around the house...but it's PERFECT for my new bedtime routine. I'm hoping that if I can establish this healthy habit now, it will have a better chance of 'sticking' when I'm feeding a newborn all hours of the day and night. I'd like to trade my Netflixing or reading this time around.
Anyway, here's everything I read from March to October, in no particular order (+ links to click and order from Amazon!).
1. Grieving the Child I Never Knew, Kathe Wunnenberg
Jamie gave me this book last Christmas, and it took until sometime in the spring for me to read it. I kept it in my nightstand but just wasn't 'in the mood' to pick it up because it included journaling inside...and books with lots of questions or journaling are usually more work than I want to put in. That's why I like reading, because I just get to sit and READ. No homework involved. But it was a good book for processing our loss, even a year later. Would be a good book to gift to someone when you aren't sure what else to DO.
2. Closer Than a Sister, Christina Fox
You've seen this one multiple times for more than a year and I am FINALLY reading it! Our connection group had planned to read it last fall, then pushed it off to do some other stuff during our group time, but now we are reading through it in a 'book club format' and so far I'm really like it. I think this is one I'd definitely recommend for a book club though.
3. Parenting with Loving Correction, Sam Crabtree
I've read a lot of parenting books at this point, and this one is in the Top 5 I'd say. It brought a fresh, practical, no-nonsense perspective...I found myself nodding along in agreement the whole time. It was a good 'refresher' about giving one warning, employing discipline immediately, consistently, and calmly. Like a pep talk full of reminders for why/when/how to use discipline correctly...and that's exactly what I needed to read right now that I'm parenting a four-year-old.
4. Labor with Hope, Gloria Furman
This book wasn't what I was expecting it would be, but it was good. It's written as more of a daily devotional, and I prefer to plow through books on my reading list, instead of reading small parts each day. It felt a little bit like 'the same thing' over and over, but that *might* have also been because I was reading two other books by the same author, at the same time. I'm not sure I'd recommend that approach, it's just how things happened. Overall, a good quick read, specifically for expecting mom's.
5. Risen Motherhood, Laura Wifler, Emily Jensen
This was the book I was waiting for all summer. It lit the fire I needed to jump-start my fall reading...sometimes a PRETTY, fun book does that for me when I'm feeling 'bored' in the current book I'm working on. I was feeling tired of reading HEAVY books, by the time I cracked this one, I was able to finish it within the week. It was filled with equal parts stories, wisdom, and gospel application, mixed with solid theology and practical mothering ideas. It will probably become my 'new mom' gift.
6. Love Lives Here, Maria Goff
This had been in my Amazon cart for a long time, and I ended up snagging it on an insane book-deal-day. I had it read within a week and it was good, but I prefer Bob's writing style and personality. His books feel like he's right in front of you talking and I can't get enough of them (he has a new one out and I'm dying to have it!). I liked Maria's take on hospitality and what that's looked like in their home over the past 30 years...while raising kids and after their kids left, with a husband who worked long hours and now with a husband who works even weirder/crazier hours. It was good, but not a drop-dead-must-read.
7. Grace-Based Parenting, Tim Kimmel
This is the one I was stuck on for most of the summer. I wanted to read it to check it off my list. And I wanted to like it. But it made me bored and I can't pinpoint exactly why, since it was all parenting strategies I agree with. There are so many other amazing parenting books I'd recommend, I'd say this is one you can skip. I feel mean saying that, but it's just how I feel.
8. Glimpses of Grace, Gloria Furman
I liked the practical mixed with the biblical in this book. By the end it felt a little repetitive (but like I already mentioned, that *could* be because I was reading two other books by the same author at the same time), but it was filled with the perfect eternal perspective to get through mundane days of motherhood...right down to specific examples for how to find eternal perspective while doing a mountain of laundry or a sinkful of dirty dishes.
9. 1 Peter, Jen Wilkin
I can't remember if this was my fall semester study last year, or the spring...either way I never included it on a blog list, so here it is! It was, of course, excellent. I could listen to Jen's teaching all day long. Her studies are intense because they're quite a bit of homework, but I tend to get a lot out of them because of that, especially because I hadn't studied 1 Peter before. I'd recommend doing in group alongside her video-teaching.
10. Imago Dei, Mike Cosper
I'm only a couple weeks into this study and it's HARD. Not because there's a lot of homework or time commitment, but it's a lot more thinking than is usually required of me, and for that reason I'm SO thankful we're doing it for our fall women's study...which means I'm at a table of my friends discussing it out every week. I can't officially review it yet, but so far, I'd definitely recommend. Just be prepared for some heavy lifting in the processing department.
11. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, She Reads Truth
I tackled this study on my own in the spring after we finished our women's study at church and I really enjoyed it. I liked seeing how each of these prophets fit within the bigger context/story of the Bible, but I liked zooming in to study them individually...since they're small books and easy to breeze over. All four are written with differing styles and perspectives and with totally different themes, but I liked seeing how they fit together using the timeline always included in She Reads Truth study books...this helps me SO MUCH with context and I regularly flip back and forth to reference the timeline.
12. Genesis, She Reads Truth
I've been in this study since July and I'm annoyed about it. It's Genesis, so I expected that it would take a while...because it's BIG and a lot of stuff goes down. But I haven't put in the time I know I should to consistently sit down and study it to get some good momentum going. I've studied bigger chunks/days at a time and have gotten so much out of it (I even started doing genealogy diagrams to better understand those parts of Scripture on the days when the passage is 90% genealogy and I have little to 'reflect' on), I just haven't made it a habit. Reading books in bed is easier than sitting down at the table with book + pen + Bible to spread out and study. Sitting still is getting increasingly harder at this point, which isn't an excuse, it's just the reality. I've liked digging into Genesis, even though it's familiar and filled with common stories I've heard since childhood.
Here's what's on my fall reading list!
1. Love and Respect, Eggerichs
2. The Strong-Willed Child, Dobson
3. 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You, Reinke
4. The Mission of Motherhood, Clarkson
5. The Accidental Feminist, Reissig
6. The Home Edit, Shearer
7. What Grieving People Wish You Knew, Guthrie
8. A Standard of Grace, Ley
9. When Less Becomes More, Ley
10. The Art of Neighboring, Pathak
11. Cozy White Farmhouse, Galvan
12. Give Thanks, SRT
13. A Thrill of Hope, Advent 2019, SRT
14. The Road Back to You, Cron
15. Make Something Good Today, Napier
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