there is a window of time that i look forward to every night. it's after the kids are tucked in, after hubby and i have watched our favorite shows, the house is dark and the white noise machine is on, i'm comfortably in bed with my blanket just so, and this window of time begins. my reading time. i get to choose one of the books from the toppling stack on my bedside table and get lost in it for as long as i want, or as long as i can keep my eyes open. everything else is quiet and still, and it's just me and my books, plus a highlighter for marking words to remember. i stay up late dogearring the bottoms of pages and highlight entire paragraphs.
the books i'm reading lately are absolutely worth sharing and recommending, so here i am. this is what i'm reading lately + a line or two that i highlighted in each:
A Million Little Ways by Emily P. Freeman "How we respond when confronted with the critics has the potential to be the most beautiful art we'll ever make - we have the capacity to reflect the relational glory of God no matter who we're with, what we're doing, or what's gone wrong." (available at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.)
Tullian Tchividjian "...once you realize that you don't have to do anything for God, you may find you want to do everything for Him."Let Hope in: 4 Choices That Will Change Your Life Forever
Pete Wilson "Everything we have is the direct result of the goodness of God. What does any of us possess that doesn't come down from him? And if we start to focus too much on the gifts, we forget the giver. Focusing on the gifts will make you want more; focusing on the giver makes you grateful."The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas
by Ann Voskamp "Christ comes right to your Christmas tree and looks at your family tree and says, 'I am your God, and I am one of you, and I'll be the Gift, and I'll take you. Take Me?'" (excited to dig into this book daily in December)
by Priscilla Shirer "We were created to floor people when they see God's mighty power at work inside us."Preemptive Love by Jeremy Courtney "Her daughter's name, Noor, means 'light,' and is often construed to mean 'God's light' or 'light that guides.' And here she was, this fifteen-month-old little baby girl in the Baghdad airport, illuminating the way into a future where God's light, unlike all the other luminaries by which we live, does not cast a dark shadow across our ethnicity, geography, or history. Light was driving back darkness. The obviousness of it all only made it more profound, as though someone had planned it that way so we would all get the message."
Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes
by Shauna Niequist "When you offer peace instead of division, when you offer faith instead of fear, when you offer someone a place at your table instead of keeping them out because they're different or messy or wrong somehow, you represent the heart of Christ." the holiday season, especially if you're travelling, is a great time to dive into a good book. any of these books would make great gifts, too!
have you read anything good lately? do you highlight/underline/mark the remarkable in your favorite books?
