This post contains affiliate links. Some of these books were provided to me in exchange for review by BookLook Bloggers. All opinions are my own.I have been working really hard this year. Between my salon, blog, my Young Living business, and volunteering at church I have been working 7 days a week. My phone goes off incessantly with fires that need to be put out, and I can’t remember the last time that I spent time with my family without a computer or phone hogging my attention.
My logical mind knew that I couldn’t keep that pace, but when the final, stressful straw broke the camel’s back, my body decided to shut things down for me. I have spent the past week sleeping, for the most part. I always thought it was silly when you heard of celebrities being hospitalized for exhaustion, but I get it now.
Spending a week on the couch gave me some time to catch up on my reading. One of my intentions for this season has been to slow down and enjoy diving into a book again, and it was a welcome relief for my tired brain. A few of my reads really stuck out to me, so I am going to share them with you.
Coming Clean: A Story of Faith by Seth Haines
If addiction has ever touched you or anyone you love, you have to read this book. This book is a beautifully written memoir of sorts; a diary of Haines’ journey into hopelessness, and the bottom of a bottle. It chronicles Haines’ first 90 days without a drink.
There are a million little memories that foreshadow the direction of a life. This is one.
This book isn’t about alcohol. It’s about the pain; the things we try to numb with excess. This book is a very honest, raw account a Christian struggling with addiction and questioning his faith. His story is messy, but told in such a compelling way that you will have trouble putting this book down. I cried at the hopelessness, and I cried from the grace of Jesus meeting us in our pain.
If this sounds interesting to you – buy two copies. You will want one to underline, and bend back as you read it. And a second copy to loan out, because you will be recommending it.
The Blog Post Tool Kit by Gina Luker
Gina Luker is the creative mind behind The Shabby Chic Cottage blog, and she just released an ebook with “the tools you need to create sustainable content.” If you aren’t a blogger, pardon me a moment while I speak another language. If you are a blogger, get this ebook! This has made me completely re-evaluate how I put my posts together, and my favorite part is that it comes with printable checklists!
She covers how to make your content sustainable, how to market your posts on social media, and a lot of other really practical facets of a successful blog post.
Midnight Jesus by Jamie Blaine
Now this is an interesting book. Jamie Blaine is a crisis-interventionist, and he recounts the stories of some of the eccentric people he has met along the way.
Life is haphazard at best – one long zigzag path through the mud.
This book has story after story about “the least of these.”
Church stuff is sort of like algebra to me. Most of the time, I just don’t get it. The only way I know to do any sort of counseling, crisis intervention, or outreach ministry, is to believe that I am going to hang out with Jesus.
This book reads like a novel, and you won’t be able to put it down. It is irreverent, funny, and truly stranger than fiction. This is another well-written book. If you are a fan of Donald Miller’s memoirs, this is a must-read.
You can see how dog-eared my copies of these books are, so take that as a good recommendation. What are your current reads for December?
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