When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simmons
Topic: Understanding grace.
Who it may interest: Anyone whose default is striving and performance. Anyone who fears rejection, who works hard to belong and be accepted.
Helpfulness: I needed this book. Personally it dug deep in the areas in my heart I knew were causing problems but couldn’t put my finger on completely. Often I wondered if the author was actually me 😅. I very much resonated with her words. I loved all the chapters but especially loved the one on pressure to perform.
Ease of reading: Easy but deep. There were so many sentences that were easy to read but really profound and I stopped to ponder them often.
Main takeaway: “at every turn, Jesus wanted only to do what the Father purposed for him to do.” It’s not about striving to meet man made guides and it’s not about looking within ourselves to find our way…to become the best versions we can be….it’s about abiding in Christ then living the life God has purposed for us. If I could sum up the whole book I’d say it’s learning how to stand on grace at the beginning of ourselves instead of trying really hard then slapping it on when we come to the end of ourselves. As we learn this we are transformed instead of merely made better.
Extra thoughts: Because this is a topic I need, I feel like there was a lot of depth in the book that I wasn’t able to grasp completely the first read, I will for sure revisit the book again to glean more!
This was a 5/5 for me.
Reading People by Anne Bogel
Topic: A summary of different personality frameworks
Who it may interest: Those who want to understand themselves and others better.
Helpfulness: I have been a bit fascinated by personality’s the past couple years. But I can fall into the trap of thinking if I’m the same type as someone else we are the same. Yes and no. I love how this book puts them all together showing how complex the human is. It’s not just saying I’m an introvert or a 9 on the enneagram, etc, it’s taking all of them into account showing none of us are exactly the same. We may share one type but not another. This helped open my eyes (even more) to the fact that I simply can’t compare…funny the Bible has already told me that 🤦🏼♀️. This book takes all the major personality traits, describes them and then helps us understand what we can and can’t change about it. I loved the thoughts on how we can’t change our nature but the idea that we can change the situation to help our nature.
Ease of reading: Easy yet though provoking
Main takeaway: “Personality insights allow us to understand why other people do the things they do, even when (especially when) their thoughts, feelings, and actions in a given situation are profoundly different than our own…..They are not crazy; they’re just not us.” For most of my life I’ve felt crazy. I think it’s so important to understand personalities so we can understand it’s ok to be different. To be cautious of the demeanor that someone is better than someone and to be cautious of the mindset that I’m less than someone else. I loved this quote from the book: “he thought he was trying to help her be a better person, but, really he was trying to make her more like him.” I also loved how she pointed out with the MBTI test that each of us have all of the qualities in our mental tool belt, however each one of us are more inclined toward a specific pair.
Extra thoughts: I have spent so much of my life trying to change my personality—the thing is I can only tame, not change. I’m trying to change I neglected my character—the thing I do have control over. We can become better versions of ourselves, but we shouldn’t try to change ourself into someone we are not.
This was a 5/5 for me.
From Dust and Ashes by Tricia Goyer
Topic: Forgiveness, trust in Gods leading, redemption.
Who it may interest: Those who enjoy World War Two Historical fiction. There are German characters, soldiers (from a tank division), and concentration camps liberated.
Entertainment: It kept my interest and had me flipping ahead (just to peek) at times 🤗
Ease of reading: Easy.
Main takeaway: It’s always worth it to follow where God leads even if it’s hard.
Extra thoughts: The characters were very real to me and I resonated with their story. The author did very well at painting a picture of what the area was like and what it was like to live during that time. I love fiction that both teaches me about history and has spiritual depth as well.
I would recommend this book 5/5.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Topic: Loneliness, abandonment, rejection
Who it may interest: Nature lovers, those who like books with murder/mystery elements set in the mid 1900s.
Entertainment: It was an entertaining book, I flipped pages ahead to get hints on what was to come. It was 5/5 for keeping my interest.
Ease of reading: Easy-Medium. Easy because the author did well with descriptions and really made you feel the setting and characters. Medium because she mixed points of view often. The main point of view was Kya but the author would randomly throw in someone else’s point of view right in the middle of Kyas.
Main takeaway: I guess I didn’t feel like I came away with any strong lesson from the book, but as I thought about the story I see how God has plans for us and as humans we can rise above our circumstances…but without Christ’s redemption we settle for lesser things, taking matters into our own hands and relying on ourselves can lead us to good things but can also keep us from better things….
Extra thoughts: As a Christian I don’t tend to read secular fiction unless it teaches me a bunch about history. This one pulled me in because of the topic… loneliness and rejection. The morals in the book did not align with my own, there was mild language, and I did not like the very ending. While I loved the perspective on the topic I was left feeling a bit empty because there was no Christlike redemption.
Overall this was a 3/5 for me, I loved it but I didn’t at the same time, I don’t think it’s a bad read but I also probably wouldn’t recommend
Growing Slow by Jennifer Dukes Lee
Topic: Slowing down in a culture that yells run faster, bigger is better.
Who it may interest: anyone who feels like they are living a pace they can’t keep up but feel bad slowing down.
Helpfulness: There are books that show us a problem then how to fix it. Then there are books that tell us stories, paint analogies, and give us permission to breathe. This book was the latter. She paints pictures of her life on the farm and lessons we can learn from it. I loved this book because my brain often works in abstract ways verses cut and dry. I was able to see myself in the analogies she drew between farming and life.
Ease of reading: It was an easy and enjoyable read.
Main takeaway: It’s ok to slow down, it won’t disappoint God. Here are a few quotes I loved:
“God is going to call us to do a lot of wonderful things in this life, but he will not call us to a life of burnout.”
“Not everyone will understand what you’re growing, but that doesn’t mean what you’re growing isn’t important.”
“Fences communicate your belief that your land holds life worthy of safeguarding.”
Extra thoughts: Everyone’s pace of life and ability are different. I may be made for a much slower life than someone else. I think the bottom line is finding that life each of us were made for. There’s no golden rule of how slow or fast we should live. Giving ourselves permission to breathe is what this book is all about.
This book was a 5/5 for me.
Take Back Your Time by Christy Wright
Topic: Discerning what is important to spend your time on.
Who it may interest: Anyone who feels overwhelmed with their schedule and needs clarity on what matters most.
Helpfulness: I was a bit hesitant to spend my time reading this book since I have read other books on managing time and setting boundaries, but I definitely found nuggets inside that helped me take a few more small steps forward in being more confident with my priorities. She doesn’t merely tell you how to organize your schedule she dives into heart things too. It’s a mix of both the practical and the intangible. She helps us look at who we want to be and challenges us with: are the things we are doing feeding into the person we want to be or not. There is also a free printable workbook that goes along with it that helps implement what she teaches. I loved the questions she suggests to ask yourself when making decisions, I will for sure reference that again!
Ease of reading: Easy, she is a great writer.
Main takeaway: It’s not about doing everything you want or think you should do, it’s about doing the right things at the right time. As seasons change life changes. I don’t like change, I tend to collect everything, never shedding anything. I need to let go of things that don’t fit into the season I’m in instead of trying to do it all.
Extra thoughts: If you are looking for a book on managing your time I would definitely recommend this book, I resonated with it way more than the book essentialism so many people recommend.
This book was a good read and I gleaned good things from it, I’d give it 5/5.
