Thursday Thirteen: Books and Blogs I Read Over and Over Again

In no particular order.

1.  Piercing the Darkness and This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti.
     I had kind of always thought God stood up in Heaven not really interacting much with us here...but these        books completely opened my eyes to new possibilities.

2.  Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

3.  The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers

4.  Gentle Ways of the Beautiful Woman by Anne Ortlund

5.  The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

6.  Three books by John Ortberg If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat, The Life You've Always Wanted and The Me I Want to Be

7.  Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

8.  www.passionatehomemaking.org
Lindsay technically isn't even blogging  anymore but here are some of my favorite posts...even though there are so many more than I could post here!
     Can Natural Living Become an Idol?
     What is the Purpose of the Home?
     And all of her posts on hospitality!

9.  www.heavenlyhomemakers.com
I have gotten a ton of recipes from here! I've made homemade graham crackers, poptarts, Cheeseburger Soup, and Cheesy Beef and Rice.  Her recipes are economical and use real ingredients! And she also offers a lot of encouragement about being hospitable!

10.  www.tammysrecipes.com (this website is no longer available)
Tammy posts a lot of economical and real food recipes from this site! She also hosts Kitchen Tip Tuesday. She has a lot of her own recipes but she also creates at home versions of restaurant favorites.

11.  The Little House Cookbook
        I have always loved the Little House books.  As a girl I loved Laura but as a grown up girl I love Ma and Mrs. Wilder.  I love reading about how they "made do"...either economically or technologically. It inspires me!

12.  Proverbs31Ministries Devotions

13.  www.weareTHATfamily.com
Because we are THAT family too and it makes me feel better. Also, she has a lot of good things to say that challenge me!

A Review

Confession:  I buy books.  I buy books about how to be a better mother/wife/christian and then I don't read them. I get tired of being the way I am so I rush out to our local used bookstore and find some book that I just KNOW will be the turning point in my life, bring it home, read a chapter or two and then set it down until the next time I'm particularly disgusted with myself.

It's been a long time since I've actually finished anything. 

BUT, I have JUST finished reading What Happens When Women Walk in Faith by Lysa TerKeurst.  You know when you're talking to someone and they say something and you instantly know that you're kindred spirits because they've just said the very thing you haven't been able to put into words? Or they explain something that you've been frustrated about and it totally makes sense? 

The only other book I've read by Lysa TerKeurst is Made to Crave.  Actually, that's a lie. I didn't READ it, I got it for free from Audible for signing up for a free month.  So technically, I listened to it.  Anyway, I do subscribe to her daily email devotions.

This book is directed toward women who want to grow and walk in a deeper level of faith.  Lysa bases the book on what she refers to as "five phases of faith" which are 

"1.  Leaving:  In order to go to a new level of faith with God, you've got to leave the old behind.
2.  Famine:  In this new place, you'll realize your comfort zone is gone, and you'll learn to depend on God like never before.
3.  Believing:  You've always want to really believe God, but now your experience of Him becomes too real to deny.
4.  Death:  Coming to the end of your ability to make things happen seems like death to you.  But to God, this is the only way to new life with Him.
5.  Resurrection:  In a way only He could, God makes your dream come true.  Only then do you understand that real joy isn't in the dream itself but rather in the richer faith you acquired along the way."  (pgs 9-10)

She uses biblical examples and personal narratives to support her ideas.  My favorite of the biblical examples is her comparison of the leadership of Moses and Joshua and the very different responses of the Israelites based on those differences.  At the end of each chapter there is a little study guide, with scripture references and, sometimes, assignments. 

I got this book from the library but I can definitely see myself purchasing it so that I can read it and refer to it over and over again. It speaks to my spirit and hits the spot only kindred spirits can find. 

Good Books

I love to read.

I don't do it often because when I get consumed in a book it's very difficult to put it down and then things around my house go awry.

Most of what I read is self help, spiritual topics.

I'm currently rereading the Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. They are so good. I can't imagine the amount of research she must have done to make them so realistic.

The first time I read the series I had a hard time getting started with A Voice in the Wind. It took me two years to get through the first chapter, but once I did I couldn't put it down. I've heard from a lot of others that they had the same experience. This is my second time rereading them and they are even better this time around! Francine Rivers is amazing!

If you haven't read them they are set in the first century during and right after the destruction of Jerusalem. A girl named Hadassah is saved by a Roman soldier and sold as a slave to a Roman family to work as a young girls maid. It goes through the hardships she faces as a Christian in the first century. It also tells the story of a German captive named Atretes. He is a successful gladiator hoping to eventually earn his freedom.

If you haven't read them, you definitely should!