“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers!”
-L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
READING UPDATE
Book #1
All that Fills Us by Autumn Lytle
“Around me, a cathedral was erected. Pillars of tree trunks, walls of swaying branches, and a domed celling as vast as the sky. Birds sang hymns, laughter echoed like a prayer, and the water we were immersed in became something of a holy sacrament.
Welcome, the cedars whispered.
Welcome to this wild church.”
*TRIGGER WARNING: Content in book makes multiple references to eating disorders, weight gain/loss*
I want to write stories that make people feel something, that stick with them longer after they reach the end, and that give people hope when they feel hopeless.
I want to write stories like Autumn Lytle’s, All that Fills Us.
I’ll be honest. Initially, I bought this book because of the cover.
I mean look at it- it’s gorgeous
But I also got this book because it’s about a girl suffering from an eating disorder who decides to do the unthinkable and thru hike from Michigan all the way to Mt. Rainier. The concept intrigued me- and rightly so.
A story so raw and real and beautiful and healing, you feel like you’re there, and you find yourself in its pages- whether you relate to the main character or one of the other many members of its colorful cast.
This book came to me during a time when my heart was hurting and as the main character Mel, journeyed from Michigan to Mount Rainier on foot, I journeyed too. I cried with Mel, I laughed with Mel, and I rediscovered as she did- that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness sake- will. be. filled.
Thank you, Autumn, for breaking open your heart to pen these words so us, as your readers- could piece ours back together.
Book #2
Embracing Advent by Jen Ludwig
“Our doing can be our undoing.
As we seek hope, peace, joy and love, we need to take time to reflect and pray so we don’t take on burdens we are not meant to carry….and so we can receive the gifts God has for us.“
I had the honor of reviewing this beautiful little devotional book by Jen Ludwig this past month. Although Christmas was still a couple months away at the time, I believe it’s never out of season to focus on the birth of Christ and all that means for us. And Embracing Advent is a great tool to do that! Jens devotionals take you through four weeks focused on the true gifts of Christmas- hope, peace, joy and love. Each devotional is just a couple pages long, which is definitely a manageable amount during the busy holiday season, yet they still include a thoughtful message full of scripture that will inspire you for the day.
I would highly recommend Jen’s book that will not only help you rediscover Christmas in the chaos, but rediscover Christ in the chaos and I will definitely be reaching for it again as the Advent season approaches this year and beyond!
Thank you Jen, for reaching out to send me a copy of your book and reminding me that in the months to come, my hearts focus shouldn’t be on preparing for parties and presents alone, but preparing to welcome the Savior of the world!
Book #3
Heart Made Whole by Christa Black Gifford
“I couldn’t hide my wounded heart and expect it to heal.
I couldn’t neglect my feelings and expect them to change.”
Heart Made Whole is Christian worship artist Christa Black Gifford ‘s memoir of sorts as she shares personal stories of tragedy and trial that forced herself to ask the question, “Will I take my pain to Jesus or will I let my pain take me away from him?”
I liked this book….at first. Although a little more “heart heavy” if you will than most books I read, the author still shared scripture and biblical truths about how our unhealed pain will only make us grow bitter and calloused unless we bring it to Jesus for healing.
However, as the book progressed Christa started suggesting strange tactics such as “talking to her heart” to see how her emotional well being was throughout the day. She also wrote about talking to Jesus during the night as if he was literally right there with her, going so far as to say they would play games together and stifle their laughter, trying not to wake up her sleeping husband. No mention was made that these were figments of her imagination, or even visions. She wrote about it as casually as if you would tell someone about talking with your best friend. These were definitely red flags, as well as her mention of Bill Johnson of Bethel church being her favorite speaker.
If you’re able to to “eat the watermelon and spit out the seeds”, then Heart made Whole may be a helpful resource to you if you have recently experienced a tragedy. The author writes with a compassion and understanding that stems from her own loss and pain.
However I think there are much better books out there that tackle this subject while also taking into account the biblical truth that “our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked” (Jer 17:9) and that we shouldn’t be looking inside of them to heal our pain, but to Jesus- the ultimate healer. I would give this book about 2/5 stars.
WRITING UPDATE
I fell back in love with writing this month.
Per my husbands advice, I looked back on all the progress I’d made in my novel thus far and read through chapter after chapter, not with the eyes of an editor, but with the eyes of a reader.
If you are a novelist struggling with writers block, I would definitely recommend doing this.
For me it helped me better understand my characters and overall plot and got me excited to finish their story. I’ve devoted soooo much time to this book, I’m not going to stop now!
After re-reading almost all of my first draft and editing some here and there, I decided after reaching almost 90k words that I needed to split this book into a two part series. So stay tuned for more news about that! I have been hesitant to share details about this story as it’s so near and dear to my heart. But the goal eventually is to write this book for other people to read it, so I am planning on sharing more soon.
This month I also had the opportunity to write a guest blog post for a brand called Make Me Available, which benefits global charities fighting world hunger and human trafficking with their cards, prints and other apparel. It’s called, “God doesn’t want to meet your expectations… he wants to exceed them” and you can read it here if you’re interested!
Now, in November, I am once again participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month) and attempting to write 50,000 more words of my book (now book two)! Wish me luck and follow me on instagram or facebook for daily updates on my progress!
