So, I kind of took a little break from blogging. Like an almost two year break 😭😭. And while I’d love to go over why I’ve been gone and give you all of my excuses, I don’t have time for that today.
Because, there are only a couple days left in 2020 and there is a very important post that I did not publish earlier this year. And it has become my favorite annual posts - the “What I read over the last 12 months” post. So even though I’ve taken a long break from blogging, I didn’t want to skip what I read in 2019 because that was one of my best years of reading - the year where I read stuff that was out of my comfort zone.
Feel free to skip through this as it is a very long post, but I wanted to publish it so I could look back on this over the years and see everything I read last year. 🙂
At the beginning of last year, I chose to follow Tim Challies’ 2019 Reading Challenge. I absolutely loved following that and having to read books that maybe I wouldn’t have chosen on my own. I’m very proud of myself for having read 22 books, despite 2019 being one of the hardest and craziest years we’ve had as we worked on our home study, completed our adoption, and fought to bring our little girl home. But that’s for another post. I have each book title that was a part of the reading challenge marked with so can see how I used the Tim Challies’ reading guide in 2019.
So without any further ado, here is a list of all the books I read in 2019!
1) Managers of Their Homes: A practical guide to daily scheduling for Christian homeschooling families by Steven and Teri Maxwell (finished 1/15/19. This book is stuffed full of ideas for scheduling a family. I love the idea of having a well-working schedule in place so that I can keep on top of taking care of my kids and homeschooling well. With this method, it ensures that you actually do the things you want/need to do - like spending one on one time with your kids, helping each child with school work, or doing your hobbies like writing. I, however, don’t like the idea of being in a super constricting schedule that pretty much runs your life and sucks the joy out of you. I want to use some of the principles from this book - especially like having a morning routine in place - but don’t plan to have that dictate my life. I do hope to have a regular routine so we all know what is supposed to happen next. All in all, I’m really glad I read this book!)
2) Holiness Day by Day:Transformational thoughts for your spiritual journey by Jerry Bridges (Finished 1/18/19, Started in 2018. This is my 3rd or 4th time read through this book. It’s a compilation of Jerry Bridges books, divided into about 365 days. Even though you only read one page per day, you come away with so much encouragement and food for thought - it’s not watered down at all! Just like the title, Jerry Bridges preaches on becoming more holy every day - totally rejecting all sin (even “little sins” like white lies, impatience, or worry), putting on Christlike attributes, and preaching the gospel to yourself every single day.)
3) Touchdown Alexander: my story of faith, football, and pursuing the dream by Shaun Alexander with Cecil Murphy (Finished 1/25/19. Reading challenge: biography; borrowed from my brother Matthew. This is a great story of the Seattle Seahawks running back. He’s an amazing godly man and football player. I especially appreciated how openly and passionately he talks about saving sex for marriage - that is so rare these days!)
4) Growing Your Faith: How to mature in Christ by Jerry Bridges (Finished 3/12/19. Reading Challenge: A book about Christian Living; Reading this book was a little like drinking from a fire hose. Jerry Bridges has such a plain and no-nonsense way of teaching how to grow as a Christian. He shows the broad picture of the gospel, opening your eyes to God’s amazing plan and gives step by step ways to grow as a Christian. He’s especially convicting when he talks about revoking “acceptable sins” like white lying, spiritual pride, and worry. Throughout the whole book, the theme is to keep your eyes on Christ, remind yourself of his truth, and strive to grow more and more like Him. I hope to read this book again and again - one of my favorite Jerry Bridges books!)
5) Prophet: A Novel by Frank E. Peretti (Finished 3/30/19. Reading Challenge: a novel; TV anchorman John Barrett begins investigating a teen’s death at a local abortion clinic and his whole life is changed through this journey. I had a hard time getting into the book at first - I felt there were too many descriptions, which I got a little lost in. There were a few slow parts as well, which lost my interest. But the ending picks up nicely and is hard to put down. I love the passion the main characters have in regards to bringing to light the horrors of abortion. Eye-opening and interesting.)
6) The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese art of decluttering and organizing by Marie Kondo (Finished 06/27/19. Reading Challenge: a book a friend recommends. I borrowed this book from the library. Marie Kondo teaches the now famous method of deciding what to keep in your house by asking yourself if it sparks joy. Her method is revolutionary, especially how she tells you to organize by category, not location. This book is short, interesting, and inspiring. There are little bits of Buddhist stuff, but it’s easy to overlook. After reading this, I’m inspired to declutter and better organize my house. I would read this again!)
7) The Connected Child by Karyn B. Purvis, Ph.D., David R. Cross, Ph.D., and Wendy Lyons Sunshine (Finished 07/02/2019. Reading Challenge: a book of your choice. This was required reading for our adoption, which Kris and I read together. We first borrowed this from the library, then purchased our own copy, then got it on audio book. The tagline says “For parents who have welcomed children from other countries and cultures, from troubled backgrounds, with special behavioral or emotional needs”. A quote from the first chapter that stood out to me: “It’s okay not to feel love for your child right now, but it is important to be kind to your son or daughter. Just make it your goal to try to understand what your child needs and to help him or her feel safe. As your child begins to feel safe, watch if you don’t just find room for love to grow again.” I know there will be times when I’ll be filled with guilt for not instantly falling in love with my daughter - this is such a good reminder! What I loved about this book is the balance between enforcing rules/setting boundaries and nurturing/creating compromises. I liked how there were guidelines to help you see if you’re swinging too far one way or the other and really appreciated the “Rules of Connected Families” (Chapter 7). Another thing that stuck out to me was how the book taught that if a child asks for something disrespectfully, the answer is always no. They can have a re-try and the answer could be yes or it could be no. I love all the practical ideas for training, nurturing games, schedules, etc. That really helped to take these concepts to a practical level. This is one that I will be referencing/reading again in the future!)
8) Spark Joy: An illustrated master class on the art of organizing and tidying up by Marie Kondo (Finished 07/06/19. Reading Challenge: A book with at least 400 pages. I kind of cheated on this one because it is in large print, so was about twice as thick as it would have been with a regular font. I got this from the library. This is the companion book to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. In this, the author goes into more detail on how to tidy specific categories and ideas on organization and storage with illustrations. Very inspiring!)
9) Ernie’s War: The best of Ernie Pyle’s World War II Dispatches edited with a biographical essay by David Nichols, forward by Studs Terkel (Finished 07/15/19. Reading Challenge: A book about history. Ernie Pyle’s dispatches really made the war come alive. He didn’t just write about war’s big picture, but the everyday struggles and horrors of war. He brought the soldiers to life with personal descriptions and funny and poignant stories. He covered all the main theaters of war, so this collection really does feel complete. His down-to-earth, perceptive, and humble style of writing make this book easy and enjoyable to read.)
10) Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology by R. C. Sproul (Finished 07/26/19. Reading Challenge: a book about theology. This book really opened my eyes to the many years and debates and sides of theology - the study of the Bible, Jesus, God, end times, etc. The author wrote about so many deep issues - I sometimes had a hard time wrapping my mind around them. I did appreciate that the chapters were very short (2-4 pages) so that I could just read a little each day and think over that. This book took me several months to read, but I was able to digest more of it that way. This is such a good book for any Christian to read - I didn’t understand everything, but I understand more now than I did before. The thing that will always amaze me is that the gospel is simple enough for a child to respond to, yet complex enough for all the scholars throughout all history to still be mystified by. It’s impossible to learn all there is about God in a lifetime.)
11) The Man Called Noon: A Novel by Louis L’Amour (Finished 07/28/19. Reading Challenge: A book targeted at the opposite gender. The story follows a man who has amnesia and is trying to figure out who he is while at the same time protecting himself and a beautiful woman he’s fallen for from dangerous outlaws. Louis L’Amour’s one flaw that stands out to me in many of his books is his head-hopping from one character’s perspective to another’s in the same scene. Like most of Louis L’Amour’s books, this was quick, interesting, and easy to read. Very enjoyable book.)
12) The Grace Effect: How the power of one life can reverse the corruption of unbelief by Larry Alex Taunton (Finished 08/02/19. Reading Challenge: A book about Christian living. Borrowed from my family. This book goes back and forth telling the story of the author’s daughter’s adoption from Ukraine and teaching on the effects of a godless society. The adoption story was beautiful and encouraging to me as we are also treading the same waters. The author’s emphasis on grace was beautiful - this is a great book!)
13) Mother by Kathleen Norris (reprinted by Vision Form) (Finished 08/07/2019. Reading Challenge: a book over 100 years old. While this was a very simple story about a young woman soon after the turn of the century, the message was so sweet and encouraging for me in my stage in life: Living a life of service to the Lord, your husband, and family is much more fulfilling than riches, prestige or freedom from children. Quick and easy to read, beautiful story.)
14) Cozy Minimalist Home: More style, less stuff by Myquillyn Smith “The Nester” (Finished 08/08/2019. Reading Challenge: A book from a “best of 2018” list. Borrowed from the library. Like her first book, “The Nesting Place”, this is more than a book on decorating. Myquillyn Smith offers suggestions for making your space relaxing, cozy, and rejuvenating. This book has step by step guides for creating the perfect, cozi minimalist room by following her method in the correct order. She’s funny, encouraging, and always hits the nail right on the head. I hope to buy this book at some point and read it again when it’s time to make-over a room.)
15) Hangman’s Curse: The Veritas Project V. 1 by Frank Peretti (Finished 08/12/2019. Reading Challenge: a book for children or teens. This incredibly interesting page-turner is about a family - parents and twin teenagers - who work for the president investigating crimes and strange events with the intent of uncovering not only the facts, but the TRUTH. This story took place in a school that was believed to be haunted. Even though it was written for teens, I had a hard time putting the book down. Near the beginning, it was really spooky and I almost quit reading it, but couldn’t. The message was wonderful, the book strongly Christian, and the story captivating.)
16) Family Driven Faith: Doing what it takes to raise sons and daughters who walk with God by Voddie Baucham, Jr. (Finished 08/22/2019. Reading Challenge: A book by or about a missionary. This book is hard hitting, convicting, and inspiring. Everything Voddie Baucham teaches is what I had been taught as a kid, but this was inspiring for me in my own family, as well as refreshing as it reaffirms my convictions like being a stay at home mom, submitting to my husband, training my son to sit through church and family devotions, home schooling, etc. This book seems to be directed more to fathers, though.)
17) In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon (Finished 08/25/2019. Reading Challenge: A book by or about a missionary. While this novel isn’t great - fails many story-telling and writing rules - the story is convicting, refreshing, and inspiring. A group of people in the town of Raymond take the pledge to ask “What would Jesus do?” before doing anything. This leads to revival in the town and begins to spread in nearby towns. It’s remarkable that such a simple question can change lives so dramatically!)
18) Intimacy Ignited: Conversations Couple to Couple, Fire up your sex life with the Song of Solomon by Dr. Joseph and Linda Dillow and Dr. Peter and Lorraine Pintus (Finished 08/30/2019. Reading Challenge: a commentary on the book of the Bible. Song of Solomon has always been super confusing - and a little gross - to me. I’ve wanted to read a commentary on this book for a while now. And “Intimacy Ignited” was such a beautiful book - it totally changed my mind about Song of Solomon. The book goes through the Song, first explaining the deeply symbolic verses, and then showing how couples can apply these principles to their sex lives. The focus of this book is for couples to become servant-lovers - putting your spouse first, showing love even though you’ve been hurt, using words to build each other up, and firing up your creativity so that your sex life isn’t stuck in a rut. This book is beautiful - one that I want to read again, hopefully with Kris. This was so inspiring and helped show me where I’ve been selfish as a wife and lover. Loved this book!)
19) Parenting: 14 Gospel principles that can radically change your family by Paul David Tripp (Finished 09/19/2019. Reading Challenge: A book a family member recommends. This book helps get your focus off the little battles of every day - arguments, disobedience, etc. - and onto the long process of raising children for Christ. Paul Tripp says again and again that many parents expect the law to do what it never was designed to do. The purpose of God’s law (e.g. rules) is to show our children that they desperately need a Savior. It can’t change hearts, but it points to the One Who can. The author exhorts parents to point their kids to Jesus every single day. He says that we shouldn’t focus on the symptoms - disrespect, laziness, selfishness - but on the heart, the root of our children’s sin. And he reminds us that God’s grace wasn’t just for our salvation, but for every moment of our day. We shouldn’t see moments of our children’s sin as an irritation, but as God’s grace giving us an opportunity to see our child’s heart and to again, point them to Christ. This book was so encouraging, so convicting, and so beautiful. I hope to read this again - hopefully with Kris.)
20) One-Minute Inspirations for Women by Elizabeth George (Finished 10/10/2019. Reading Challenge: a book less than 100 pages. This little book is divided into 58 pages of short inspirations for women - reminders to turn to God and bring Him glory in many different areas of life. I liked having short pages to read along with my daily Bible reading. It was encouraging, but not super deep.)
21) The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys (Finished 11/08/2019. Reading Challenge: A book on the current New York Times bestsellers list. Borrowed from the library. This novel [270+ pages] held me captive from the first sentence to the last - I finished it in a matter of days. It tells the heartbreaking story of the lives of the people from Spain after the Spanish Civil War and under the dictatorship of Franco through the eyes of an aspiring American photographer and a lively, but guarded Spanish girl. Though from totally different lives, theirs meet in the most beautiful and tender of ways. I loved everything about this book - the structure of the novel, characters, story - it was beautiful. So glad I read this!)
22) 31 Days Toward Intimacy with God by Joni Eareckson Tada (Finished 12/31/2019. Reading Challenge: A book about aging. I may have stretched that a bit, but it’s about maturing in your faith, hence “aging”. :-) The chapters were very short, 2-3 pages so it was a quick read during my daily devotions. The book was super good, each chapter ending in something to meditate on which I really appreciated.)
What was one book you read recently that you’ve absolutely loved? If I had to pick one favorite from the above list, it would be ‘The Fountains of Silence” by Ruta Sepetys. 💖
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