It’s finally summer and you know what that means!  Well, aside from lax schedules, entire days spent outdoors and lots of late nights, for me it means more time to read.  Some of my favorite books have come from recommendations from others and so I thought I’d share a few of mine with you.

I was listening to a podcast recently, “That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs” and she was interviewing Anne Bogel who shared some great book recommendations.  Bogel has two podcasts herself, “What Should I Read Next?” and “One Great Book.”  Bogel’s forte is all things books and reading, so if you are a book lover, you should definitely subscribe to her podcasts.  For those of you stressing out over finishing a book that you don’t really have much excitement for, can I offer a piece of advice?  Let it go.  Give yourself permission to not have to finish it.  Move on and find a book that does excite you and get reading!  We spend enough time doing things we don’t want to do, don’t make the joy of reading become a chore.  That’s my advice.

Holly Furtick has an online book club on Instagram and she recently recommended “Belgravia,” by Julian Fellowes.  I was looking for a new read, so I bought it and basically devoured it.  Julian Fellowes is the creator of Downton Abbey, so if you enjoyed the show, you’ll definitely want to check this one out.

Why I loved this book: It was an easy read.  Set in the early 1800’s,  it touches on British Society and a man desperate to rise into the aristocratic ranks.  The first chapter sets the stage for the rest of the story which occurs some 25 years later.  There are some twists and turns in the plot, characters you love to hate, and some you hate but feel sorry for, and of course some people you find yourself rooting for. Everything wraps up rather neatly in the end (whether that makes you happy or disappointed to know, you can be the judge.)

I’m currently reading “Lost Roses” by Martha Hall Kelly.  If you haven’t read her other book, “Lilac Girls,” go right now and get it!

Why I loved/am loving these books:

“Lilac Girls” is inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, Caroline Ferriday.  It weaves together the story of three women:  a New York socialite, a polish teenager & a young German doctor.  It tells the harrowing story of the medical experimentation that took place on countless Polish women while being held by the Nazis at Ravensbruck concentration camp.  I seriously cannot recommend this book enough.  If you love WWII historical fiction, this is a must read!

“Lost Roses,” which I am currently reading (and is sitting on my dining table taunting me to read it) is a novel set a generation earlier and features Caroline’s mother, Eliza Ferriday.  It is a prequel to “Lilac Girls” and I am all in at the moment.  It’s also inspired by true events and follows the story of three women from New York, to St. Petersburg and Paris.  It’s a beautiful story of women’s friendships set against the bleak backdrop of some of our history’s darkest days.

I read a book two summer’s ago that made it on my “must read” list.  Beneath A Scarlet Sky, by Mark Sullivan, is one of my all time favorite books.

Why I loved this book: 

It’s set in Italy during WWII (I know what you’re thinking, “again with the WWII era,” and all I can say is, I will not apologize. It is also based on the true story of a forgotten hero.  The novel follows Pino Lella from his days as a normal teenage boy who wants nothing to do with war and then eventually joins an underground railroad, helping Jews escape over the Alps.  He is forced to enlist as a German soldier by his parents in an attempt to protect him.  However, at the age of eighteen becomes the personal driver for Adolf Hitler’s left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers.  As he works for Leyers and has an opportunity to spy for the Allies, he witnesses the horrors of war and continues to fight for freedom and for the chance that he will one day be reunited with his love.

Just buy the book and you can thank me later.

One of the books on my nightstand currently is a book I’ve already read and plan on reading again this summer.  “La la Lovely,” by Trina McNeilly, is exactly that, lovely.  From the moment a dear friend gifted this book to me, I knew I had been given something special.  The  size, the font, the front cover, all of it spoke of beauty and as I turned the pages, revealed even more.

Why I plan to reread this book once a year:

Inside the pages is an invitation to something we often need reminding of, a call to behold beauty.  Often times we think beauty only exists in pretty places.  But beauty is deeper than simply pretty, and often times our disappointments, failures and the jagged edges of life produce the deepest beauty.  From personal stories, gorgeous photos and even some helpful decorating tips, the author invites us to not only behold beauty, but also to pursue it.  “To find beauty within the broken is to behold, ‘to keep and remember,’ the goodness of God.”

Everyone will get something out of this book but if you’re a #2, #3 or #4 on the Enneagram, (part of the heart Triad) you will likely find this book to be deeply moving and inspiring.

Speaking of the Enneagram, I recently purchased a book that I am really enjoying called, “The Path Between Us” by Suzanne Stabile.  Now, before I go any further, I should let you know that I believe the Enneagram can be a useful tool in discovering who we are and how we relate to those around us.  I don’t consider it to be an authority in my life nor does it trump the word of God, but I do believe it can be useful in helping me understand not only myself, but also a resource in helping me discover how to relate to other people.  Relationships are highly valuable to me and this has become a tool in helping me better understand myself and my loved ones.

Why I loved this book:

This book dives into the nine different Enneagram types and how they each behave and experience relationships.  Often times our behaviors (seen) can be similar to another person, while our motivation (unseen) can be vastly different.  Understanding these motivations and the dynamics that each personality type can bring, can help us better understand ourselves and others.  I have found it wildly helpful in better understanding why I sometimes react the way I do in certain situations.  It has also opened a dialogue between myself and some of the most important relationships in my life, and allowed me to catch a glimpse into areas of dysfunction in my life.  At the same time, it has allowed me to fully embrace the unique traits and attributes that God has placed inside of me, embracing all of it with an increased desire for growth.

I hope one of these recommendations has sparked an interest for you.  Reading has always been a wonderful retreat for me and I hope it can be one for you as well.  I traveled all the way to Santorini, Greece last summer and do you know what I did?  I hunted down a local bookstore that I had been fangirling over on Instagram called Atlantis Books.  It was this crazy, eclectic, wonderful bookstore that Aaron and I spent over an hour rummaging through.  It was one of the highlights of our trip for me.

If you have a book that has inspired, helped, or even just entertained you, I’d love for you to share it in the comments below. I’ll leave you with this quote from C.S. Lewis that I feel like I could’ve written, “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” Happy reading.

One of my favorite people that I’ve never actually met. That’s how I referred to her the other day to my sister-in-law. I was talking about my new friend, Jen Hatmaker.  She’s a fun, stylish, hilarious (with a healthy dose of sarcasm thrown in for good measure) mama that loves God with all her heart. The kind of person you are drawn towards. And when it comes to people like that you don’t have to actually meet them to feel like you know them.

Of course, reading a book they’ve written will help forge that “sister love” pretty fast too. Anytime someone shares their heart and their faith journey with you it’s hard not to feel an instant connection, regardless of the miles between you. This is how it happened with me & Jen. She drew me in with her writing that gave me access to her zest for life, her “this is how it is” no nonsense approach to sharing the real her without all the pomp and circumstance. She made my mama heart swell with her love for her kids (the 3 she had and the 2 beauties she adopted from Ethiopia.) And after watching a couple of episodes of her new HGTV show “My Big Family Renovation” I was all in. I mean any girl that decides to renovate a house while raising 5 kids and allows cameras to follow her around at a time that I can only guess held some of her “darkest hours EVER” deserves my applause. I mean really. Shortly after signing up to be her EF (e-mail friend) (you can too by clicking here)  I stumbled upon the opportunity to read a copy of her revised and updated version of  “Interrupted.”

I will admit that I just finished this book a couple of days ago.  And so, while I wish I could fill this post with a review of the book that is wrapped up nice and tidy with a big, beautiful bow on top…I cannot.

I cannot because I have been suspended here while I digest it.
I feel like someone has pushed the “pause” button and I’m caught between what I thought I knew and what I am just now discovering. Or perhaps more just a fuller realization of the life Christ really wants me to live. And I’m trying to figure out what my action step should be. The step that will help put some meat on the bones of my belief. And the idea of looking in the mirror to catch a glimpse of the life God’s offering me only to walk away and immediately forget what it looks like…it leaves me feeling sick.

I’m kinda stuck because in order to move forward things have to change.

I have to change.

I can’t just read it, and “uh-huh” it and go about life as usual anymore. And it’s not just about the book. Interrupted is a tool that I believe God will use when the hands that open the pages reflect the open heart accompanying it.

And while my physical self feels paused my mind and heart are feeling anything but. They are working overtime, running back and forth, going over previous footage of my life, rewinding and unwinding so much of what I thought I knew.

This book for me was not so much a new idea as it was a resurgence of an idea that had gotten lost in the shuffle of life. It has challenged me to get back to the basics.  The basics I had forgotten. Or ignored. Or turned a blind eye to. 

And that were now staring me in the face, begging the question, “What are you going to do about it?”

It’s similar to going on a hike. And getting lost. (Not that I’ve ever done that before. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) At some point you realize  that you’re off the beaten path and you’re not sure where you are or how you got there. You just know you gotta get back.

You started out on the right trail.  But then suddenly, after looking around at your surroundings, you realize you’re not where you want to be. You have to go back to the last place you know you were headed in the right direction and start again. One foot in front of the other. Baby steps.

This is where I find myself. At the last known marked spot. 

And I echo Jen’s words in the book when she says, “I wish I could go back. Then I could go to the optometrist without crying in the parking lot for fifteen minutes because I can afford the extravagant gift of good eyesight. It was less heart wrenching to tuck my kids into bed without envisioning the millions of children who will sleep on dirt with no mother to attend to their needs that night………I enjoyed not feeling raw all the time. I liked imagining I was something rather than realizing I am nothing. I can’t unknow what I know, and I can’t unsee what I’ve seen; it leaves me aching.”

The words that leave me aching now may not have had the same impact a year ago. But God has been breaking me. Slowly. His timing in our lives is one of our greatest gifts although we don’t often realize it. Because while I was reading this book my heart was being transported back to Africa. It’s as if every word I read brought to mind the faces of the children I stared into during my time in Zambia this last May. Those eyes. Those haunting, beautiful eyes. Those hands. Those strong worn hands. Those feet. Those filthy lovely feet. 

That’s when the faces of my African friends turned into the faces of my neighbors. And it cracked my heart wide open.

God was showing me that the love I had for those African villages was the kind of love that was needed in my own neighborhood.

The need is great. The need is everywhere. The need is next door.

The need showed up in Wal-mart a few days later.

It wasn’t anything big. To be absolutely honest, I’m embarrassed to share the smallness of it. But I will anyways.

I couldn’t exactly tell what was going on, but by the looks of it she was short on money and the line of people behind her were gearing up for a mutiny.  We were in checkout aisles next to each other and I felt God whisper to my heart, “Give her some money.” So I did what any good Christian would do…I stalled. I was next in line and I couldn’t very well just leave my groceries there and walk away to help someone else. I mean, I could’ve lost my spot! But my heart started beating harder, faster, louder and I knew God wanted me to do something. So I told God, “Okay, okay, if there’s still a problem over there when I’m done checking out, I’ll go see if I can help.”  As I’m sure you could guess, by the time I had finished paying and packing up the groceries in my cart, there was still a need. I walked over and asked how much she needed. I handed her two bills and she gave me one back saying, “Just this one will be enough. Thank you.”

I barely made it across the parking lot to my car before I started coming undone. I couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down my face. I sat in my vehicle with my puffy eyes and wondered how something so small could impact me so greatly.

Could it be, as Jen writes, “We have an innate craving to live on mission with God in the dangerous, exciting world. Out there is where we come to life, get over ourselves, are fed.”

Could it be that something as small as getting out into my grocery store (my world) and living on mission with God (listening to his promptings, even the little ones like covering someone’s grocery bill) could help me get over myself and feed me? 

I’ve been contemplating Jen’s questions.

“If we’ve been in church for years yet aren’t full, are we really hungry for more knowledge? In our busy lives, do we really need another program or event? Do we really need to be fed more of the Word or are we simply undernourished from an absence of living the Word? Maybe we love God, but are we loving others? If our faith is about us, then we are not just hungry-our spirits are starving.”

Are you ready to let Jesus’ teachings wreck your comfortable Christian life? Are you okay with living in a state of “pause” for a bit while you ask God to help you figure this stuff out? Are you okay with being cracked wide open, being left vulnerable and raw? If so, then this is the book for you.

But if not, then this is still the book for you. (Sneaky, huh?)

You see, I’m not sure I would’ve answered “yes” to all of these questions myself a month ago.  But here’s the thing: The “rawness” I was scared of has become my greatest gift. My vulnerability rubbed me raw until all I had left was Jesus.

That’s all that’s left. That’s all I need.

So, because I have enjoyed this book so much and to say “thank-you” to all my loyal readers, I am giving away a brand new copy of the book Interrupted: When Jesus Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity. The more you like, share & tweet…the better your chances of winning. So go ahead and comment, share, like and tweet. And may the odds be ever in your favor.

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I had been waiting to get my hands on a new book on my Kindle for a while.  Finally a night with no prior engagements. I grabbed my blankets and drew them up close to my chin and started in.  I had only gotten about halfway through the first page when my husband, who was starting a new book himself, started laughing. I began again and got to about the same point in my book when my husband starts laughing again, quite hysterically. By this point my curiosity was getting the better of me so I turned off my [easyazon-link asin=”B005890G8Y”]Kindle[/easyazon-link] and asked him to read me a little bit from his book.

I guess you could say I was pretty much hooked after the first sentence of chapter one where the author, Peter Haas, starts off with this: “The first time I ever cussed into a church microphone was right after I became a youth pastor.”  

Maybe it was because my husband & I had served as youth pastors for several years in northern Minnesota ourselves and it brought on a rush of memories.  Maybe it was the candor in his sharing.  Perhaps it was just that I knew his book was going to elicit a few good laughs from me.  I hold in high regard anyone who has a great sense of humor.  Whatever the reason, the next morning I snagged the book from my husband’s bedside table & spent the rest of the day devouring it. And that’s how I spent my day, reading from cover to cover, Peter Haas’s new book, Pharisectomy.

[easyazon-image-link asin=”1936699443″ alt=”Pharisectomy: How to Joyfully Remove Your Inner Pharisee and other Religiously Transmitted Diseases” src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5170mNl0bOL._SL160_.jpg” align=”left” width=”107″ height=”160″][easyazon-link asin=”1936699443″]Pharisectomy: How to Joyfully Remove Your Inner Pharisee and other Religiously Transmitted Diseases[/easyazon-link] Now I’ll tell you right now that there will be some people who won’t even pick this book up because of the title.  After all, who wants to be associated with the idea of needing to have your inner Pharisee surgically removed?  And unfortunately, the people who probably need this book the most are likely to be the same people who believe they have no need for it.  Someone perhaps like me.  A Christian who has been raised in the church her entire life.  A bible college graduate.  A pastor’s wife.  But the theme and premise of this book was something that had been stirring in my heart over the last few months. I had experienced some subtle nudgings and even a few  harsh pokes from the Holy Spirit over the last couple months while reading another amazing book, [easyazon-link asin=”0736916393″]Grace Walk: What You’ve Always Wanted in the Christian Life[/easyazon-link], by Steve McVey. [easyazon-image-link asin=”0736916393″ alt=”Grace Walk: What You’ve Always Wanted in the Christian Life” src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Zroseb3EL._SL160_.jpg” align=”right” width=”103″ height=”160″] I had been slowly learning, perhaps relearning, a very important lesson.  Law means that I do something for God while grace means that God does something for me.  And I was learning that the approach I was embracing was having a direct result on the joy I was experiencing in my journey with Him.

You see there are two very different approaches we can take towards God’s Law. There is the legalistic approach and then there’s the grace-driven approach.  The first, the legalistic approach, occurs when we obey God’s Moral Law in order to earn God’s love and attain God’s righteousness.  This pharisaical approach is the epitome of legalism. The other option, the grace-driven approach, occurs when we understand God’s free gift of grace.  Understanding this approach will cause us to realize that our righteousness has nothing to do with our behavior. The author, Peter Haas says this, “The difference between a Pharisee and a Christian is not that one teaches the Law and the other doesn’t.  Rather, the difference is in how the Law is taught and the motives that drive our obedience to the Law.” And so for many of us who have been in church for a while, it can become easy to neglect the subtle nuances between whether our works are deriving from a place of  “I have to” or “I get to.”  I love how the author sums it up like this, “In Christ, faith is our only obligation; the rest of God’s Law is celebration.”

In the fourth chapter of his book, titled, “Checkbook Christianity”, Haas talks about the idea of people being like checking accounts.  His point is that you’ve got to make “deposits” in people before you can make “withdrawls.”  By making deposits into people’s lives we earn the right to teach truth.  Without this “love deposit” our truth can actually cause rebellion in a person.  Haas says, “Truth was never meant to be delivered outside of the context of a loving community.” Speaking truth is easy, earning the right to speak truth takes time and effort.

In his chapter titled “Christians vs. Children of God”, Haas lists 3 cautions in remaining healthy followers of Christ. Caution #1: If you judge based on format or style instead of fruitfulness, you’ll miss God. Caution #2: When you judge, you become isolated from the grace of God in other people. And lastly, Caution 3#:You can’t antagonize & influence at the same time.

One of my favorite chapters of the entire book was Chapter 6 entitled, “The Art of Hedge Making.”  In this chapter the author discusses classic behaviors of a well-meaning legalist.  He starts out the chapter discussing the idea of not all beliefs being equally important.  He does this in a very easy to understand way with his belief continuum.  Basically, the continuum starts with Fundamentals which are the essentials, and then works its way down the chart to Inferences, Speculations, and Opinions which gradually become less and less essential.   Haas brings it all together by stating this, “But, in light of these varying levels of belief, it’s important to understand: Every human being has the sinful tendency to take their opinions, inferences, and speculations and pass them off as fundamentals.”

The author points out that having boundaries or “hedges” isn’t the problem.  The problem occurs when we take and force those personal convictions onto other people.  According to Haas, there are 5 ways that “hedge making” can hurt us.  The first is that it often becomes a substitute to for listening to the Holy Spirit or discerning God’s will.  The second, hedge making can cause people to seek God’s word less.  Third, it causes your church to become an elitist. Fourth, it causes churches to become a hostile place for skeptics and new believers. And lastly, church becomes the ultimate distraction from God’s mission.

In chapters 7 & 8, Haas examines something he refers to as a “pet purpose.”  We all have one. A pet purpose is not a bad thing.  It is essentially a function of the body of Christ that specifically inspires you.  But as Haas states, the problem lies when “Christians or churches get so overcommitted to their pet purpose that they start to define it as more spiritual than others.” When this happens our “pet purpose” becomes a “rabid pet purpose.”

Haas takes a minute in his book to go over the five main themes to a biblical church.  These themes are taken from the book Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren.  They include evangelism, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and worship.  If you want to be a healthy, biblical church, then the aim is to develop all five of these themes.

The author ends these two chapters by giving three solutions to helping keep ourselves and our churches effective and free of problems.  The first is that healthy churches create “dog parks.”  Secondly, healthy churches avoid church service Christianity.  And the last is healthy churches create an others-oriented culture.

The last chapter delves into the generation gap and how we can bridge that gap in our churches. As Haas states, “There is a direct correlation between the median age of a church and its odds of reaching unchurched people.” Research has shown that receptivity to the gospel decreases with age. Studies have also shown that as churches and their leaders age, their odds of both growing and reaching unchurched people decreases. Haas shares his belief that we need to start looking for more anointed young people that we can empower. He believes that these young people will know how to reach their generation better than anyone else.

[easyazon-link asin=”1936699443″]Pharisectomy[/easyazon-link] is one of the best books I have read in years. It was thought provoking, informative & witty.  Although my personal journey of learning to remove my inner Pharisee has been a process, I believe it is one that has been God ordained.  No matter where you are in your faith walk, I believe this book will help. It will provide you with insight and a fresh perspective.  And most importantly, it will leave you with a feeling of hope.  Some of Christ’s last words are recorded in John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another…By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  We are called to be a loving community and by doing so we reveal our Father to the world around us.  When the world sees the love we have for them and for each other, they will understand God’s love.  1 Samulel 2:7 from the Message version says, “He rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope!” Only God can do that.

If you interested in reading[easyazon-link asin=”1936699443″]Pharisectomy[/easyazon-link] or [easyazon-link asin=”0736916393″]Grace Walk[/easyazon-link] you can order them by visiting my recommended books page.  Order it and have it shipped right to your front door or send it to your[easyazon-link asin=”B0051QVESA”]Kindle[/easyazon-link] today.