What I'm Reading

I'm not sure if you realize it or not, but I love to read! HA!  This is something that was instilled into my brothers and I from the time we were little and, for the most part, we still all love to sit down with a good book.  I'm so thankful that my kids seem to be picking up that same love of reading too!  I think it helps that they see me picking up a book and reading too.  Yes, they already do have favorites and they both have books that they can even "read" themselves - it's fun to hear them say words from a page and reading it with the same "voice' that I read it to them in. 

Lets get to what I read this week!

This book, What Women Fear by Angie Smith, is one of the books from this "quarters" reading list.  It was a new release as of September and, I must tell you, it is fantastic.  I couldn't put it down and, for a non-fiction book, that says a lot.  Don't get me wrong, but I think most of would say that when reading a non-fiction book that is meant to teach, it is hard to just read through the book.  The way the book is written makes it so easy to read and understand.  In each chapter, Angie introduces a fear such as "The fear of the 'what if . .'".  She beings with an example from the Bible, such as Sarah and Hagar, but she doesn't just tell you the well known in's and outs of the story, she tells it in a way that allows you be in that moment and even, at least for myself, pointed out ideas that I had never thought of before in relationship to the particular scripture.  From there, she goes to real life examples, explanations, ideas, solutions, and just talking about how to have some success over the fear.  Each of the fears she hits are fears that many women have or can relate to in some way.  Personally, I don't live a life in fear, like the author has had to overcome.  There is one thing that I truly fear though.  I am not an "over-protective mother" and by that I mean that I am not a germ-a-phobe.  My kids ride in a grocery cart without a fabric seat, I pick toys up off the restaurant floor and give them back to the kid who dropped it, I didn't sterilize a pacifier that fell on the ground.  (I will admit that we crossed a line recently, though.  We were in Walmart to buy tennis shoes for the boys and Josh was in the back of the cart.  I turned around and said "Oh my word, we did not bring that chicken nugget with us."  He had found it in the cart  . . Darryl quickly ripped it out of his hand  . . well the half he hadn't eaten and tried to explain to him he wasn't in trouble but not to eat things out of a cart as I went into the next aisle and dry heaved for a few moments.  Man that was gross!)  BUT the one fear I have, the one thing that I can obsess over if I'm not careful, is that something will happen to my kids.  If we are out somewhere, they are never out of my site - I keep my hand on theirs, strap them in to anything, and walk behind the wagon if we are using that.  The thought of someone taking my kids can be almost crippling but I've learned to trust God more in this area - do I still constantly keep my eye on them, yes, but I also pray for peace and safety for each of my boys.  I think that whomever picks this book up will find that it will speak to you in some way.  I highly recommend this book to anyone. 

I had to go back to some Fiction for now until I can pick up another book on my reading list.  This book, by Tracie Peterson called What She Left for Me is a book that tells a true story of a family; of strong women actually.  It is the story of Jana, who faces great tragedy but, through it all learns more of family history and comes to love a mother who she thought never loved her as she discovers the truth about the past.  This book, in some ways, is not an easy read because it touches on tough topics like divorce, death, rape, drugs and the hippie lifestyle but, don't let that scare you - it is very well written and in the end you see a beautiful picture of forgiveness and reconciliation.  This is a great book to pick up and read this winter - sit back with a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy a good read.

Jumping in Sunset by Dawn Ringling is another fantastic read - one that I had trouble putting down.  The story begins as Pamela Thornton's husband abandons her and destroys the life she thought was perfect.  As she regathers her wits and emotions with a friend at a rustic lakeside cabin, she realizes how much she has been missing in her life.  She discovers the depth of true friendship, the solace of her artistic talent, and the comfort and compassion of God.  This is a great story of true healing and it is almost fun to watch the character unfold, learn and grow.  Another great book for a cold, snowy day! (Yes, sorry those are coming!)

I've shared this series before - The Elm Creek Quilt Series - and they really are very good books.  This is by far one of the best in the series.  The Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaveriniok - this one can stand alone, you won't know the connection she has with some of the names in the book but really, this book is about her life.

That's what I've been reading!  My next book I'm working on now is

I started this previously, then put it down, now I've restarted it all over again and really want to read the whole thing so instead of trying to do it as my daily devotions, I'm just going to read it :-)

See you next week !