Finished since last post:
Things I Wish I’d
Known Sooner by Jaroldeen Edwards
The subtitle for this book is “Personal Discoveries of A
Mother of Twelve”. It was a neat read from an experienced mom not just about
parenting, but personal and spiritual discoveries as well. Great thoughts and
meditations for any mom!
“Home is a living, breathing thing – a laboratory for
living. I believe we should create a home that makes people think, ‘I want to
be in that home,’ not ‘I wish I owned that home’.” (p. 77) “I realized that any
growth that comes from pain and challenge can come only after we have stopped
asking why… The firs thing we must do in order to begin to gain the lessons
from pain is to accept what is past and let it go. Then we must begin to ask
ourselves the what questions: What am I still able to do? What am I learning?
What goals should I set?” (p. 101)
The Secret Thoughts
of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey into Christian Faith
by Rosaria Butterfield
This was a super interesting testimony and story from a
former lesbian turned pastor’s wife! Just hearing her journey from lesbian
feminist professor to Christian was inspiring and convicting… there were people
who loved her no matter what and invited her into their home and patiently
answered her questions. (There was one short chapter on her view of only
singing Psalms in worship which I pretty much skipped - 0 Biblical support as
far as I’m concerned – but I digress!). It also goes through her experiences as
a pastor’s wife which was also really interesting.
Between Worlds:
Essays on Culture and Belonging by Marilyn Gardner
Marilyn (Brown) Gardner grew up the child of missionaries in
Pakistan. I knew her parents, one of her brothers married my mother’s sister.
This was an interesting account of being a Third-Culture Kid (TCK) – a child
who is raised in a different country than it says on their passport and how
their sense of “home” is rather… confused, and comes with challenges that
others have a hard time understanding. It was an interesting read and I really
appreciated her openness and honesty about her experiences and journeys.
The Shaping of A
Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot
This subtitle of this book is “How My Parents Nurtured My
Faith”, and it’s about Elisabeth’s parents, their own history and how they
nurtured and raised their 6 children. It’s one families’ story, but it is
beautiful, inspiring, convicting even. She talks about her parent’s individual
walks with God, how they instructed, disciplined, dealt with work and play, how
they particularly nurtured and taught each child, learned to trust them to God
as they made life decisions (some of which maybe they weren’t thrilled about)
and learned to let them go (Elisabeth along with several of her siblings went
to the mission field). It gave me some great inspiration about how I want to
raise my children in the Lord.
Ina May’s Guide to
Childbirth by Ida May Gaskin
This was written by a woman who, when she wrote this book,
had been a midwife for 30+ years and overseen hundreds of births. This book is
a MUST-READ for every pregnant woman! It is a powerful book that has put me in
awe of how amazing God created the female body! Birth is not a thing that we
need to fear (although it must be taken seriously). It is a natural thing, not
something to be treated. Babies were meant to be born and women were made to
give birth to them. Yes, there’s pain involved, but it’s not the kind of pain
you need to dread…. In fact, the birth experience can be the most amazing of
your life! As I get ready to have my child in the next 3 months, I am excited
and ready to trust God and my body to do what it was made to do.
The Duties of
Parents by J.C. Ryle
I have really appreciated J.C’ Ryle’s books in the past so
wanted to read this short work as well. Very simple, but important advice for
parents on raising their children in the ways of the Lord.
“Train [your children] with this thought continually before
your eyes that the soup of your child is the first thing to be considered.”
Dissolving
Illusions: Disease, Vaccines, and the Forgotten History by Suzanne
Humphries, MD & Roman Rystrianyk
This was a book written by two individuals (one a medical
doctor) who have spent years researching and studying health, disease and
vaccines. They take a detailed look at the history of disease and how vaccines
were created and what their actual impact was. Did vaccines really cause the
eradication of smallpox and other diseases? Or is there a lot more to the
story? Very interesting and informative book!
“Beginning in the mid-to-late 1800’s and into the 1900’s,
the mortality rate for all infections diseases dropped. The deadly threats that
were once so commonplace slowly faded into the past. By the end of the 19th
century, it was apparent that sanitation was making a significant impact
against the bacterial diseases, typhus and typhoid fever, without any vaccine.”
Currently Reading:
Grace-filled Parenting by Paul Tripp (great so far!)
