I just had to share this cute moment I had with Kaylah yesterday . . . I have started Kaylah on the 100 Reading Lessons that I have done with all the kids to teach them to read. She was doing the writing part of the lesson and I made an “s” for her and asked her to make one of her own while I went into the other room to get something. When I came back, she’d made a really pretty decent one (“s” is a hard letter to make!). I exclaimed, “Kaylah! That’s a great “s” – well done!” She looked up at me and smiled said, “Are you thrilled?” I laughed and said, “Yes I am thrilled.” Love these moments with these precious kids.
As most of you know, I love to read and I wish I had more time to post book reviews on this site as I have a passion to share good book ideas with others! However, I am often busy with other things (i.e. teaching kids to read, and juggling many plates as a wife and mummy, etc :-)). I go in phases of not having much time to read and then at other times reading more. I do read try to snatch a few minutes while nursing Jessah most days. I thought I would just share what books I have on my bedside table/near my nursing chair at the moment. I usually have several on the go and then dip into whichever one sounds good at the moment.
Becoming a Contagious Christian by Bill Hybels and Mark Mittelberg – Peter gave me this book years ago before we were even engaged. I just re-read it in preparation for our women’s book club coming up in a few weeks. It’s an older book but has some timeless truths in it. A great read if you want to share your faith more but feel inadequate to do it. I feel fired up to be more intentional about sharing Jesus!
Happy Wives Club by Fawn Weaver – This is a book by a woman who traveled around the world interviewing happy wives about their secrets to a good marriage. It’s very interesting. I wouldn’t say it’s profound but it’s given some solid advice and it’s spurred me to ENJOY my marriage more!
I Used to Have Answers and Now I Have Kids by Phil Calloway – This is a light and very humorous read. But has some great truths and lessons in it.
A Wind in the House of Islam by David Garrison – I picked this up at Word Alive and have really enjoyed it. Parts of it have been a bit heavy but the stories of Muslims coming to faith from all over the world have been inspiring.
Screens and Teens by Kathy Koch – I need to get back into this one and put some of the ideas in it into practice (I am in the middle of it and got distracted onto reading other books). I like her approach of talking about the basic deep needs of teenagers and how many are trying to get these needs met through their screens. I think this should be a must-read for every parent (maybe every person even if you aren’t a parent!) as it shows the positives and pitfalls of our screen dominated culture and how we can deal with them.
Trailblazer Books by Dave and Neta Jackson – I include these because I previewed one recently for my kids. They are so well-written and wonderful books which introduce your children to Christian missionaries and other heroes.
Next up (i.e. in my pile waiting to get to read!)
The Revolution of Love and Out of the Comfort Zone by George Verwer – at the start of this year, I got into reading George Verwer’s books. I made it my goal to read them all . . . I am getting there slowly. I especially enjoyed Hunger for Reality.
Too Many to Jail – The Story of Iran’s New Christians by Mark Bradley – can’t wait to read this. My dad says it’s great!
Beyond the Sacred Page by Jack Cavanaugh – this is a novel and I don’t normally read novels these days (they draw me in and then I neglect my responsibilities cause I am hooked!!) but my older girls read it for school and say it’s amazing and I have to read it! It’s the story of William Tyndale.
OK, enough about books. I hope some of these may be a blessing to some of you! I know Hannah wants to post some book reviews sometime soon too so watch this space. 🙂