The Good Life

Ministering to Problem People in Your Church:  What to Do With Well-Intentioned Dragons   by Marshall Shelley is a must-read! I can't recommend this book highly enough for pastors, church staff, parachurch ministry leaders, and even church members. Marshall Shelley takes the reader through real-life stories of pastors facing problems with troublesome members of their churches and "helps you go beyond just tolerating problem people to limiting their damage and showing them God's love. You'll discover effective strategies to turn dissidents into disciples." This book is incredibly well-written and very engaging. I learned so many things about pastors, church members, and myself. It gave me so many opportunities to pray for my pastor and check my own heart to see if I had any of the tendencies of the people mentioned in this book. Ministering to Problem People in Your Church  does a wonderful job of connecting pastors to the 21st century. Multiple times it ref...

Aptly titled, Hands Free Mama:  A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters , Rachel Macy Stafford challenges, encourages, and shows us how to become the parents and people we long to be. In a world over saturated with smart phones, computers, TVs, and the never-ending pressure to do all and be all, Hands Free Mama is a breath of fresh air for the person who wants to make a change.  I loved this book and picked it up at exactly the right time. I realized I was spending entirely too much time on my phone and not enough time enjoying the simple pleasures of being a stay at home mom. As a stay at home mom, time is both a blessing and a curse. You have unlimited amounts of it and sometimes the temptation to zone out with media can be a struggle. Rachel Macy Stafford writes from her own experiences as someone who realized she was missing out on the important things in life. Each chapter includes tim...

Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist is wonderful! It's the perfect mix of memoir and cookbook. She weaves her life story with awesome recipes and I couldn't put it down. I love Shauna's authenticity and openness. I think everyone can take something away from this book. It touches on many topics and I found myself laughing or crying and saying, "Oh good, me too!"  I love cooking and I loved the encouragement that she offered to fledgling "chefs" like myself. It was refreshing to read how to view preparing food as a way to love others. The book is divided into chapters with a story from Shauna's life and a recipe that corresponds to that time. It. Was a really neat way to set up a book! I think this book would make a perfect gift for someone or it would be wonderful if you enjoy cooking/would like to become more adventurous in the kitchen. I would say the only thing I didn't like about Bread and Wine was the inclusion of some harder to find ingredien...

I'm reading through "Lord, I Give You This Day" by Kay Arthur and really enjoying it. It is my first thing to read of Kay Arthur's outside of Precepts. There are 366 short devotions that will help you become "equipped to greet each day with bold faith, confident in God's faithfulness, strength, and transforming grace." I like her straightforward but authentic style of writing in each day. I loved that each devo could take me 5 minutes or less to read through. Each one left me feeling closer to the Lord with a Bible verse in my mind and a prayer to go along with the day's theme. I do wish they were slightly deeper in content, but it's really the perfect devotional to read first thing in the morning when you only have a few minutes to read and meditate on something. I also really liked that each day was for a specific date. I like knowing that if I skip a day, I can just turn right to whatever the next day's date is.  I recommend this book to a...

Rebekah Lyons' new book, "Freefall to Fly: A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life Of Meaning" is a memoir based on her life as she and her family make a big move from Atlanta to New York. It's filled with authentic glimpses into her battle with depression, anxiety, control, and the search for true meaning. It says, "But life looked radically different when her family relocated to the heart of Mew York City. She was forced to navigate a new normal with three kids, two toy poodles, and a minivan. Blindsided by crippling despair, Rebekah wrestled with bigger questions women often ask, Why am I here? Does life matter?"  I enjoyed most of this book. It was fairly slow in some parts and the language is a little flowery, but overall I liked it! I think it would be a great book to read through with a friend or small group for a laid-back discussion. I think most young, stay at home moms like myself struggle with the questions about life that Rebekah brings to light. T...

I've been reading The Christian Parenting Handbook and it's great! Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller wrote the book and say you will learn how to:  Identify character qualities to address problems Build internal motivation Use creativity to teach your kids spiritual truths I love the way the book is set up with 50 short chapters on different parenting tips, common problems, and biblical truths. It's perfect to pick up and read whenever you have a free second. They offer real, practical, and biblical advice. I really appreciated the way the authors gave concrete examples and how to  implement them into your family.  One of my favorite chapters is titled "Don't Practice In The Grocery Store-That's The Final Exam." It's all about what to do when your child acts out in public. They wisely suggest that you, "practice in the kitchen, bedroom, laundry room, and backyard. Children need to learn how to handle disappointment at home so they can accept a ...

I had the pleasure of hearing Lysa TerKuerst speak right before this devotional came out for review. I loved her! She is one of the most engaging, genuine speakers I have ever heard. Her message on emotions was just what I needed to hear. I haven't actually read Unglued, but after hearing her speak, I felt caught up enough to really enjoy the devotional. Unglued Devotional is an incredible book! I highly recommend it and loved going through it. It is 60 days long and each day is short, but packed. I feel like handling our emotions is a topic every woman can identify with. Lysa is genuine and honest in each day's lesson. It was refreshing to read someone honestly share their struggles with handling many of life's ups and down, but at the same time offer such hope and encouragement. I think that was my favorite part of the devo. I feel like we can oftentimes either make everything seem so awful or sugarcoat it so it doesn't even seem like an issue. Lysa does a great job...