Books I’m Reading
This month I have spent more time reading books than I have in a good while. I felt compelled to reset some of my life rhythms for 2022 and also participated in 21 days of prayer and fasting at Life Center that concludes today. I fasted both TV and social media for most of January and it turns out I found a lot more time to read! I think that we all are aware that time is often wasted when we reach for our phones or have the TV on for long periods of time, but can you believe that according to Forbes, in 2020 Americans averaged more than 1,300 hours on social media?! That is more than 3.5 hours a day. Even more concerning, Gen-Z (born between 1997-2012) averaged 9 hours a day on a screen.
I’m sure there are more, but I see two significant downsides to excessive screen time. The first being decline in overall mental and physical health. Studies have been done and continue to be done, showing the real price we are paying for being attached to screens including but not limited to negative effects of vision, sleep, weight, reward-addiction, self-confidence, and social skills.
The second downside is that when we use our time watching a screen, it is often in place of doing things that are beneficial for our health and growth. Examples are spending quality time with loved ones, reading, going for a walk, being creative, etc. We each get 24 hours in our day and it’s up to us to steward our time well. (Parents, we need to help our kids learn to be good stewards of their “free time”).
So now, back to books! I’ll share what I have been reading in January and a few take-aways.
Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life of Peace and Purpose
Author: Rebekah Lyons
Thoughts: Rhythms of Renewal is a book that I will plan to revisit annually. This probably has had the most significant impact on me of all of the books that I’ve read lately. The author shares her own struggles with anxiety and the four rhythms she has incorporated in order to thrive.
Mentionable Quote:
You can focus on the fact that fear came knocking, or you can focus on the fact that I [God] always make a way of escape.
The Comfortable Kitchen: 105 Laid-Back, Healthy, and Wholesome Recipes
Author: Alex Snodgrass
Thoughts: The Comfortable Kitchen is beautiful with color photos for the recipes and the recipes are accessible, meaning you don’t need to have gone to culinary school to execute the directions or shop for the ingredients. I was feeling the need for some kitchen inspiration and I’m very happy that I ordered this book. Added bonus, it is a great size to use as coffee table décor!
Mentionable Recipes: This is full of great recipes, however, Balsamic Steak Salad with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing and Clayton’s Favorite Mustard Salmon are two of my personal favorites…so far!
Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better
Author: Brant Hansen
Thoughts: The first chapter of Unoffendable had me questioning if I would read the entire book, however, I persisted and am glad that I did! If you struggle with holding onto offenses, (I think most of us do) then this is a book worth reading.
Mentionable Quote:
When we recognize our surprising fallenness and keep our eyes joyfully open for the glorious exceptions, we’re much less offendable. Why? Because that’s the thing about gratitude and anger: they can’t coexist. It’s one or the other.
One drains the very life from you. The other fills you life with wonder.
Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts
Author: Jennie Allen
Thoughts: I most recently started Get Out of Your Head, and I still am in process but there already are a lot of highlights and I know this will be a high impact book on me. Jennie reminds the reader that there is a very real enemy who wants to destroy us. She shares her story of being under a spiritual attack for 18 months and how Jesus brought her freedom.
Mentionable Quote:
When we’re spiraling in noise or distractedness, we have a choice to shift our minds back to God through stillness.
When we’re spiraling in isolation, we have a choice to shift our minds back to God through community.
When we’re spiraling in anxiety, we have a choice to shift our minds back to God through trust in His good and sovereign purposes.
When we’re spiraling in self-importance, we have a choice to shift our minds back to God through humility,
When we’re spiraling into victimhood, we have a choice to shift our minds back to God through gratitude.
When we’re spiraling in complacency, we have a choice to shift our minds back to God through serving Him and others.
Author: Gin Stephens
Thoughts: I LOVE the author. I read another one of Gin’s book, Fast. Feast. Repeat. and it literally changed my life (more about that in a future post), so I preordered Clean(ish) before it was released. We all should be informed on how to lighten the toxic load on our bodies, and this book is a good tool to understand where to begin and what to look for in food, household products, personal products, etc. If you are like me and consider yourself a nutrition nerd, with a slant toward organic food and cleaning products when possible, a lot of the information in Clean(ish) will not be new to you, but it’s still a good reminder to be consciences of what we are purchasing, using, and eating.
Mentionable Quote:
Dear diet industry:
We are tired.
Yes, we are bone-weary from constantly being told how to eat.
We are tired of giving up whole food groups. We want to eat carbs. And fats. And we want to eat them together in one meal.
We don’t want to do a math problem every time we want to eat.
We don’t think that food and eating should be so complicated.
When we get right to the heart of the matter, eating should be simple. And maybe it is.
The Book of Waking Up: Experiencing the Divine Love That Reorders a Life
Author: Seth Haines
Thoughts: I was inspired to read (actually listen to the audiobook while going for walks) The Book of Waking Up after listening to the author being interviewed on a podcast. Seth Haines has a powerful story of “waking up” to the reality that he was addicted to alcohol. In this book, he shares three specific areas of pain that he believes we all have at least one of, that can lead to areas of misplaced adoration. For Seth that was whiskey, for others it may look like Netflix binging, compulsive shopping or eating, or a host of other things. It was a very interesting read and caused me to take time and ponder areas of pain in my life.
Mentionable Quote:
That great God with Us met a Christian-killer, a real pious prig named Saul, on the road to Damascus. He knocked that prig off his high horse and locked him in the blackness of blindness. Jesus met him in that darkness, woke him to a new life eventually marked by a new name – Paul. He showed Paul the way his coping mechanisms had led him into a great sleep. What coping mechanisms? The dependency on self-righteous priggery, on doing all the right things, on his pious cause – the genocide of Christ’s followers.
Scripture – One Year Bible Reading Plan
Thoughts: A daily part of my reading this month was the One Year Bible Plan and there is nothing that has transformed my heart, mind, and life more than Scripture. Nothing even comes close. What I love about this plan is that each day the reading includes some New Testament Scripture, some of the Poetry books, and some Old Testament Scripture. I’ve had Bible reading plans that lost me once I got to Leviticus but this one is a wonderful blend of Scripture.
Every few years I enjoy getting a new Bible to mark up, as well as a new translation to read. The CBS Notetaking Bible that I started using in January makes my heart so happy! It is beautiful.
I would LOVE to hear what you are reading! Please share in the comments below.
4 Comments
Janet Morris
I’ve read and return to “Get Out of Your Head” often. I’ve battled negative thots throughout my life. Early in my Christian walk I read “Telling Yourself the Truth” which was a game changer for me. Both books were excellent and provided helpful tools. What I found tho, the bottom line is taking my thoughts captive needs to be a daily practice and a constant vigil.
Amber Sollie
Thank you for sharing, Janet! I’m almost done with Get Out of Your Head and am having one of my children read it as well.
Kelly Lake
Hi Amber! I love your list of books. I’ve been wanting to read the Jennie Allen book, but all of the other books you mentioned sound really good and I know from your reviews I would love them too. I am finding that my screen time has been way too much and I am really being more and more convinced that so many people are being devoured by their phones. I have been guilty, having plenty of other things to do, but it seems to be like the siren’s lure to scroll through social media all throughout the day and also the shopping sites. It’s very distracting, and I’ve been thinking it’s something I need to fast for awhile to read more and work on other creative projects that I have like creative writing and knitting. As well as organize and clean my house and get rid of extra stuff not being used. Between tv & phones, screen time can consume a lot of my day if I let it….as in all things, balance is the key.
I am currently reading two books….”Seasons of A Woman’s Life” by Lois Evans (Pastor Tony Evans’ wife) and a book I recently won online called “Sister Barnabas, Women Rediscovering the Power of Encouragement” by Traci Mason. I heard Ms. Mason give a talk on a Zoom call on the topic of encouragement and thought she had a lot of really great tips and specific ideas we as women can intentionally do to encourage others. They had a giveaway and I was one of four who won her book, and I’m just starting it today!
Kelly Lake
Amber Sollie
Thank you for sharing, Kelly!