These aren't all the books I read this year, but these are the books that have stayed with me and shaped my days. I read other good books, but I was content to put them back on the shelf when I was done. These are the books that once I read them, I can't quite let go so I keep them out like I'm not finished. (Is this just me?)
I thought today was a good day to share them with you in case they might be the books that shape you in 2025. I'm giving a quote that I love from each. I'm going to try to keep it to just one.
I had never read Alicia Britt Chole before, but she was recomended by a really good friend who knew I would love her. She was right. Anonymous is a book about hidden seasons and how Jesus set the example for us in waiting spaces.
"I liken God's purposes to a pure but unpredictable river. Impatient self-promotion actively seeks out a speedboat to outrun the current and rush toward the future. Fear of failure stands on the banks cautiously to observe before even getting her feet wet. But perhaps obedience simply wades into the center and lets the current of God's presence set the pace, be it swift or still." - Alicia Britt Chole
Next up, The Unplugged Hours by Hannah Brencher. Hanna is delightful. She paints amazing pictures with her writing. I feel like I sat in her living room talking to her as I read.
This quote sums up the idea of the book, " ...we often find ourselves straddling the line between living in the moment - really living in it - and documenting the moment. In our wolrd today, the two sometimes feel inseparable. We all have our phones out. We all want a selfie. We all want proof that we were here, even at the cost of not being fully in the moment at hand." - Hannah Brencher
This next book was a gift to me from Caleb for my birthday! Yes, he did have help picking it out. My word for 2024 was grace and this book helped me shape how I know what that word really means. When Strivings Cease is a beautiful reminder of what we aren't responsible to earn. "Sometimes we just don't see how much we're striving until we see how worn out we are from trying to attain something God wants to give us through Himself." - Ruth Chou Simmons
This last book is actually a devotional. I've read it slowly. In Upon Waking, Jackie Hill Perry can pack a punch in a few short words:
"You won't resist an enemy you forget exists."
"God can answer my impossible prayers, and the God of impossibility can give me an impossible faith to still trust Him if He doesn't."
"To tame the tongue, we have to actually deal with who we are...By dealing with not just the words we say but also the heart that determines the speech, we can sork toward the unity of our words and our worship."
This was so good for me to write as a recap. It's allowing me to re-process the words I took in and turn them into prayers for power to put them into action in my heart and life. We can consume so much information but we don't take time to digest it and let it nourish us.
I hope you pick one of these books to add to your reading list this year.
Father,
Thank you for this community of readers. Thanks for the joy they bring to me when they tell me what my words have meant to them. Let this bless these authors who have shared out of their hearts and blessed me. In Jesus name, Amen.
All my love,
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