May Reads

May was the month for audio books. 

Road trips and lots of cleaning and cooking created space for a lot of listening time, which was then filled with music, sermons, and, um, five audio books. #nerd.

“Real life is more important than books. It’s living the Christian life that matters; books exist to serve life, and the only books worth writing are those that emerge from a life that is awake, alert, and engaged with real people.”
-Joe Rigney, Lewis on the Christian life

Here’s my eclectic reading (and listening) list:

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How to Suffer Missionally

Broken relationships.
Cancer.
Sickness.
Death.
Loss.
Tragedy.
Grief.
Loneliness.

What if Scripture tells us God is a divine multitasker and that this hurt doesn’t only affect us? What if we aren’t suffering because God is cruel but because He’s equipping us to help others in ways we couldn’t without it?

We all suffer. What separates Christ-followers from the world is the way we respond. And with hearts and ears anchored in the Gospel, we can hear the sermon suffering preaches.

Suffering tells us we’re all groaning for full redemption and that we’re not alone because no life is untouched by difficulty. The poison of sin has slithered into the DNA of every human and with it comes suffering—the proof of our brokenness.

Perhaps God walks us down roads filled with potholes and trials and grief so we can learn the streets and one day drive others down them, helping them to navigate the curves to get to the finish line.

2017 Reads

I love to read. 

And this year reading was a challenge.

It was hard to focus and get sucked into the pages because, for the first time in my life, I liked what was happening in my own life better than what was happening in the world of books.

Who knew that was possible?

Instead of spending every free second reading about other people living their lives, I was actually living mine. And it was wonderful and hard and beautiful and excruciating, and I would choose every second all over again to see God the way I do today and to get to know and love (and be known and loved by) the extraordinary people in my life.

Anyway, here are the books I did read. (And, minus the top five, these are in no order whatsoever).

“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.”
-J.K. Rowling

Half-Year Reading List

As of today, 2016 is halfway over.

We’re halfway to Christmas.

What in the world.

•  •  •

Maybe it’s because I’m nosy or maybe because I’m a nerd, but I love it when people share what they’re reading. Whether it’s on Instagram or on one of my best friends’ blogs, I love seeing what people are reading and what they find in the pages of a book (because books are magical and I’m a nosy nerd).

So, the following is what I’ve read so far this year, broken down by month.

Monday Morning Munch No. 141 – Questions to identify guilt from good things

“In despising the gifts, we insult the giver.” -John Calvin

As I confessed last week, my low-grade guilt over enjoying good things is real. It’s a heart issue I didn’t realize was a thing until reading Joe Rigney’s The Things of Earth and as I finished the book yesterday, I can say it is undoubtedly one of the most helpful books I’ve ever read. I’ll be returning to it often.

Maybe you’re in the same boat? Maybe you’re also unsure of how to balance honoring God supremely with delighting in the pleasures at His right hand?

Ask yourself the following questions from Joe Rigney and dig deep for the reasons behind your answers.

Monday Morning Munch No. 140 – Do you resist good things? I do.

I resist good things. 

That’s what I learned about myself this week.
For real. And, yes, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds.

It goes back to what I’m finding a lot of things in my life go back to: fear.

I’m afraid I’ll love things too much (more than God).
I’m afraid I’ll love people too much and then God will take them away from me because I love them more than Him.
I’m afraid I’ll find too much pleasure in things that aren’t eternal and somehow dishonor God because if I were really following Him I wouldn’t even desire any of these “lesser” things.

The low-grade guilt over enjoying good things is real.