Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Rhythms by Justin Whitmel Earley- Our life group went through this together this year and it was great- we received good feedback that many liked it! Each chapter is a different habit- waking, mealtime, bedtime, work, play, conversations, screen time, discipline, devotions, and marriage- and how we can use small moments within those habits to be intentional and bring spiritual formation into the everyday. Each chapter ends with practical tips, prayers, or liturgies you can feel free to try. It was a great book and good to do in a group setting. (Side note- we also had the leader's guide, but we didn't particularly love that because the guide is intended to be used at a weekend retreat.) This book was great to cause me to paise and evaluate these topics and offer spiritual insight along with practical tips.
The Crash by Freida McFaddon- Per my usual lack of good predicting skills, the end of this book blew my mind. It's more of a suspense/thriller than my usual reads, but occasionally it's fun to throw a thriller in there. This story is about Tegan, who is single and 8 months pregnant, involved in a complicated/terrible situation with the baby's father. She goes to visit her brother for some comfort after some tough things, and she crashes in a blizzard and is stranded with a broken ankle. Someone ends up saving her and the couple gives her a room in their warm cabin, but she soon realizes she is not as safe there as she originally hoped.
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry- I knew that Matthew struggled with addiction, but hearing him talk about it was wild and difficult. In his memoir, he talked about his childhood and the good in his parents/family, but also the fractures and imperfections that really affected him. He talked about the joys he found in sobriety, yet also the many relapses he had and his lifelong struggle with addiction. I loved hearing him talk about what it was like to be on Friends, but overall this book was really sad for me to read, as a great example of how you can have so many things this world can offer, but that can't make you happy and fulfilled. Only Jesus can.
Journey to the Cross: A 40 Day Lenten Devotional by Paul David Tripp- I read this over Easter, and it was so good. It was very convicting about our sin and how we should mourn over it and be pulled to repentance and change, but also was such a good encouragement about how we cannot save ourselves, but we can trust in the One who can. I found everyday to be insightful and thought provoking, and I would love to read this again another year!
Michelle's book is about split in half, with the first half describing her childhood and growing up and the hardships she experienced, and the second half about being trapped in Ariel's house. It was difficult to read about the things they experienced there, but hearing about how they helped each other and the perseverance and resilience they had was incredible. For Michelle, she found great strength in carrying on through the hope of her son. Prior to being kidnapped, she was working hard to fight to get her son back from foster care (the story she shared about how she got pregnant and then later lost her son was so heartbreaking). Hearing about her survival through and overcoming of incredibly difficult things happening to her was very moving.
