What I’m Reading Now

I started off 2020 with a personal goal for myself. No, not a list of new years resolutions, but ONE goal that I wanted to challenge myself with personally. It’s easy for me to write up ideas and goals I have for this blog, or things I want to do with the kids this year, or projects I want to get done around the house in the upcoming new year. But this, this goal was just for me. A personal goal that didn’t affect or rely on anyone else. Honestly, it had been a while since I had don’t anything for myself like that, and it felt good to focus on something that was just for me.

Do you know what my 1 goal for 2020 is?

I wrote down the goal to read 12 books in 2020. If you are doing the math, that averages out to about a book a month. So since we are halfway through the year, I wanted to share what I’ve read so far, and what I’m reading now.

Here’s a recap of what I’ve read so far –

I started the year off with Rhythms of Renewal. It was actually gifted to me by my pastor who felt like God put it on her heart for me. I was never one to think I struggled with Anxiety, but I started off this past year feeling completely overwhelmed! This book changed my life! I feel like I could write an entire blog post on just this book and what I grasped from it, and maybe I will do just that. I will tell you this, I always viewed getting enough “rest” as making sure we get 8 hours of sleep every night. For some reason in my mind I always equated the word “Rest” with meaning “Sleep”, and that is so not the case! Rebekah points out in her book that when we don’t get enough rest, everything feels overwhelming, and friends that’s exactly where I was. She highlights that “when we get enough rest we are refreshed and can then operate from a place of overflow, not obligation”.

Next up, I read Do It Scared by Ruth Soukup, and man where my eyes opened! Ruth starts the book off acknowledging how big fear can play into holding us back from achieving our goals. Ruth mentions how “understanding the unique and specific ways in which fear might be holding us back is the critical first step in being able to overcome that fear”. Ruth identifies 7 Fear Archetypes and the key to understanding how this fear is holding you back, and I will tell you this, she hit mine right on the money! I couldn’t believe it. Not only does her book help you identify and understand why this fear is holding you back, and then identifies the steps of courage to take to face those fears. It was highly enlightening.

Purpose – we’ve all got one. I believe each one of us has our own unique purpose that God placed into our hearts to share with others. Jordan points out in her book Own Your Everyday, that it’s not finding our purpose, it’s about discovering what’s always been there inside us. She encourages you to look past perfectionism, and press into doing what we were made to do – simple as that. I couldn’t agree with Jordans words more, as they felt like they were beating straight from my heart. Her book was so inspiring and encouraging to read, and applicable to all.

I don’t just like to read self help books. Although those tend to be my favorite, sometimes it’s nice to switch gears, and read something that doesn’t cause me to do any internal evaluating, but rather just sit back and enjoy the words that are written on the pages. I’ll admit, I hate politics. I hate the division it causes, that drama that surrounds it, and how it seems nearly impossible to uncover the truth. So when I first heard about Michelle Obamas book Becoming, I brushed it aside as another political agenda, that I couldn’t be bothered with. But after hearing from a few people who read it that said it was good, my curiosity was peaked and I decided to find out what everyone was talking about. This one I listen to on Audible, narrated by Michelle Obama herself, she takes you back through her childhood, and what it was like to grow up in Chicago, all the way to meeting her husband, and you guessed it, their journey to the white house. What I loved, was that there was no agenda, and what I loved even more was the poetic story telling Michelle brings in sharing her story. It’s not about being a republican or a democrat, but what it looked like for her growing up, and their family as she married and had children. She shares her struggle as a working mom, a wife, and as a woman. Michelle and I couldn’t be further opposites as far as age, race or where we were raised, but I was fascinated by her story, and truly enjoyed getting to know more of who she really was, vs. how she was portrayed in the media. Reading her book gave me a completely different perspective of their family, and that has caused me to love reading even more, because of what we can learn through reading. It was a beautifully written biography, one that I can say I enjoyed more than I thought I would.

Here’s what I’m reading now…

Ok, so now that we’ve recapped on what I’ve read so far this year, here are the 2 books that I am currently reading right now!

I’m about halfway through The Joy of Missing Out, and boy can I tell you I love it so much already! Tonya captured my full attention in her Introduction chapter when she shares her own personal story about being overwhelmed and stuck with not even knowing where to start on her never ending to-do list, and how the overall struggle of trying to juggle it all and simply being busy, left her feeling equally exhausted and like a failure. If you are feeling overwhelmed in your life right now, no matter what season you are in, this book is for you! She points out that the feeling of overwhelm isn’t having too much to do, it’s not knowing where to start. And boy have I struggled with that. She also offers interactive worksheets to help you pin point and narrow down areas, so that you can be the most productive with your days, at working smarter not harder.

You may be familiar with Dr. Emersons previous book Love & Respect, on how to break the crazy cycle in your marriage and learn to communicate better. It was probably one of the most influential books in my own marriage, and how my husband and I learned to successfully communicate with one another. A friend had told me about his latest book Mother & Son, and how informative it was for her and how she communicates with her own boys, and desperate to want to do things right with my son, I jumped at getting this book. I’ve only recently just started it, and my eyes have been completely opened yet again in how to communicate best with him. One that encourages him to be the man God created him to be, while showing and teaching him respect down to the core of who he is. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has boys in their life, regardless of how old they are, and I’m itching to dig deeper in this book.

What’s on Deck …

While I don’t have all my books picked out for the rest of the year, here are a few I have on deck, some already waiting for my in my audible library, and some I am considering reading this year.

• 

• 

• 

All in all I have to say, I have always enjoyed books, but never been much of a reader. This is in no way an Ad, and I’m not getting paid to share this, just my personal experience, Audible has completely ignited my love for reading. I mentioned before that I started with it last year, and go through 6 books, which I never in a million years thought would be possible. I was infamous for starting books, but never finishing them. Picking them up every once in a while, when I had the time, but never getting around to finishing them. Audible changed all of that for me. I can listen to books when I’m driving, traveling, sitting in the pick up line at my kids school, or even doing the dishes. I love it so much, it inspired me to actually pick up books this year, and give myself the goal of reading 12 books in 2020. Some I buy and read, because I’m a note taker, and I love to underline things that really resonate with me. And others I listen to on audible.

I feel better, more enriched as a person, and it’s something I do for me. Like a treat, or a mental health break. Something that I feel gives back to me, challenges my thinking, and inspires new ideas and concepts on life, motherhood and my goals. I guess I’m telling you all of this to encourage you that if I can do it, you can do it too! And I think you’ll actually love it too!

Pin It ~ to save for later