What's On My Shelf (Jun 2023)
Updated: Sep 12
Do you typically have more time to read in summer, or less?
Do you have more time to read in summer, or less?
- MORE!
- Less
The summer months are often filled with events and activities, the kids are on break from school which adds to the liveliness of being home. Sometimes there's a road trip, beach days or camping that allow us a little more rest and space.
Well, if you're looking for a few ideas for reading, here's a few I've enjoyed and would recommend.
Follow along on Goodreads:
Christian Living
* Say the Right Thing: How Your Words Can Glorify God and Encourage Others by Carolyn Lacey
I don't always say the right thing. I wish I did, but I don't. This book teaches us to value and become more intentional in the words we say. Read my full review here. (5 stars)
* Never Cast Out: How the Gospel Puts an End to the Story of Shame by Jasmine Holmes
If you've ever experienced shame, you know it's often a deeply buried emotion. In this book, Jasmine teaches us what shame looks like in our life and how the Gospel gives us both an answer and an ending to it. Read my full review here. (4 stars)
* Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son and Spirit by Mike McKinley
Discover more about what it means to have friendship with the Triune God through the wisdom of John Owen's classic, Communion with God. I enjoyed the Trinitarian approach to this topic. I wrote a longer review here. (4 stars)
* Worthy: Living in Light of the Gospel by Sinclair Ferguson
"Certainly too many Christians have suffered from a “conditional” sense of acceptance with God—as though his love for us is ultimately dependent on how well we perform. God then becomes like a schoolmaster to be pleased by a satisfactory performance, or a policeman who makes sure we are keeping the laws, whereas the gospel is about his grace, because it comes from “the God of all grace” (1 Pet. 5:10)."
This short book invites the believer back to a life of integrity, one worthy of the calling we've been given. While it's more on the academic side, it's a compelling and important message for believers. (4 stars)
For Learning
The Policy Governance Model and the Role of the Board Member
I have the blessing of serving on the home council for Africa Inland Mission Canada, which is the organization that sent us when we were church-planting in East Africa. As this board is run by policy governance, it's been a learning curve and these booklets by the Carvers, I've found, have been really helpful to help me understand my role and how policy governance works. Next up....The Governance of Financial Management.
“This book is neither a lament nor a polemic. It is rather an attempt to explain how the revolution of the self came to take the form it has in the West and why that is so culturally significant.” I've had this on my list for awhile, and now my last seminary course for my master's is on the theology of the human person, and this one is on the reading list. I found it an insightful journey toward understanding some historical and philosophical elements of the sexual revolution. I'd definitely recommend it if you're learning about the topic.
Fiction
*Love Unseen by Rachel Kelley Stones
This cinderella-esque story features a heroine with a disability. (Can't tell you yet, it will ruin the first chapter!)
The author takes you into Hannah's world: the struggles she faces being among crowds and unfamiliar places, the disdain of her family, and the humility of a new friend who makes his own blunders along the way - both extending grace and forgiveness. The character of her father, though he's passed away, is a hero himself for how he fought for and cared for her.
Jonathon is a man trying to navigate home again in England after spending many years abroad in business. Not well-received back into his homeland, shunned by society as undeserving of his new title, he's preoccupied with finding his place, which leads to his blunders with Hannah.
This is a clean read, written for general market.
*Windsong Manor by Julie Wright
Eleanora had a difficult marriage. Now she's a widow fighting to keep and raise her children -facing resistance and interference from her husband's will and her husband's solicitor. The stable master has proven to be an unexpected help in teaching riding to her kids and becomes one of her closest allies. When his secret is revealed and her worst nightmare unfolds, she faces a very uncertain future.
Clean, historical fiction written for general market.
* denotes books I've received from Netgalley and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I hope you enjoyed the tour through these titles and that you found something of interest. You can always leave a comment and let me know what's on your shelf lately! I'm always on the hunt for book recs!