May 2022 Recap.

Over the last year or so of blogging I have alternated between sharing a devotional post and a piece of poetry every week here on my corner of the internet. As a self proclaimed “word enthusiast”, this was fitting. Sharing my love of poetry and my love for Jesus, the WORD made flesh is what keeps me showing up here week after week.

However, my love for words is expressed in other avenues as well.
I love reading. And I love creative writing.

That being said, I decided it was time to introduce another “segment” if you will regarding more word content that I am enthusiastic about!

On the first Friday of every month, I will be posting a recap of the prior month including all the books I read and a brief update on my writing.

Especially during my off season at work, I want to devote as much time as possible to these passions and I hope you enjoy reading my reviews and following another aspect of my writing journey!

Here’s my May 2022 Recap!

READING UPDATE

Book #1
Atomic Habits by James Clear

I had been hearing about this book for years and was skeptical to see if it lived up to its hype. Well, I can confidently say that it did! Atomic Habits by James Clear- an easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones- draws from the authors personal experience and research to confirm the concept that tiny changes overtime can bring about remarkable results. The notion that certain individuals are “creatures of habit “may be true, but this book convinced me that anyone, anywhere can make or break a habit if they’re willing to put in the work. Consistency truly is the key to success.

This book really motivated me to take the time to intentionally write out and pursue specific habits that I want to implement in my life, especially when it comes to my writing. The problem most of us face is not that we don’t desire to change something in our lives, but that we either have an all or nothing mentality or we never take the time to set ourselves up for success.

The 4 “laws” that James Clear outlines for creating good habits are relatively simple:

1. Make it obvious
2. Make it attractive
3. Make it easy and
4. Make it satisfying

If you were trying to break a bad habit, the inversions of the prior laws would come into play-

1. Make it invisible
2. Make it unattractive
3. Make it difficult and
4. Make it unsatisfying

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, whether or not you are seeking to build or break a habit. If you are simply trying to reach a goal or commit to a project- this book will definitely convince you that motivation is overrated and what really causes success is creating the habits and environment that will lead to success.

Book #2
The Grumblers Guide to Giving Thanks
by Dustin Crowe

Some books are like a glass of cool lemonade on a hot Summer day. They’re life-giving. They’re refreshing. They put a smile on your face. The Grumblers Guide to Giving Thanks was this kind of book. Written by a “grumbling, pessimistic, need to smile more, glass-half-empty kind of guy,” this book explores four aspects of biblical thanksgiving, builds out its theology, and lists its benefits in our daily life.

As Crowe explains in the book, we are people who are around each other, but not present with one another. Similarly, we are in Gods world but not awake to it. Our busyness and distraction blind us to the reality of Gods faithfulness all around us. Not only are we ungrateful, we are unaware of Gods day to day involvement in the inner workings of our lives. Teaching ourselves to recognize and remember Gods providence leads us to thanksgiving, an act of obedience and worship.

I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a grumbler, but this book challenged me to stop, see, and thank God for everything he’s doing in my life.

Book #3
Unwilling Warrior by Andrea Boeshaar

When I was in middle school, I was obsessed with historical fiction. So when I spotted this Civil war Christian romance in one of my neighborhood library boxes, I simply couldn’t resist.

Unwilling Warrior is part one of a the four part “Season of Redemption” series by Andrea Boeshaar. In it, young Valerie Fontaine decides to leave finishing school during the war between the states to return home to her grief stricken Father after the death of her mother. When she arrives, she discovers her Father has been charged with supplying federal gunboats in order to save his shipping business. To save her Father- and herself- she must marry a childhood friend with less than honorable intensions, or trust the handsome stranger who is visiting town determined to find his missing brother.

For the most part I enjoyed this book, which is laced with historical details and well written dialogue. It’s a an easy to read story of triumph over tragedy, forgiveness, trust and the power of love. However the characters seemed a little two dimensional to me, especially considering the tension and drama of the circumstances they were experiencing.

WRITING UPDATE

I wish I had more to share in this section of the blog post. Basically May was a month of getting caught up in my personal life after 4 months of working non stop. One thing I became aware of after reading Atomic Habits was my need for a system when it comes to drafting my current Work in Progress. I definitely have an all or nothing mentality when it comes to my writing where I’ll work on my book for a full day and then put it off for a couple weeks. Moving forward, I want to develop a schedule that forces me to work on my novel every day, if possible.

As James quotes in his book,

“Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in a-lifetime transformations.”

Last week I began brainstorming some ways to make writing my novel a habit, just as writing this blog is a habit. My goal is to sit down and plan out my week every Sunday, finding the times between work and other events where I can sit down and write. Sharing this monthly post will also offer me another layer of accountability to keep making progress in my writing.

That’s it for now! Hopefully you enjoyed this new type of post.
Let me know in the comments!