People
often ask me what I am reading and what books I recommend. I love to read
middle grade and young adult books as much as I like to write them, and am
often stopped by parents for recommendations for their kids.
Before
I can talk about what I’m reading or what I recommend, I have to talk about my
staples first. These are my daily sustenance. I’m not talking about the pantry
staples that nourish my body, but the staples that nourish my soul.
1) The Bible- I love the
way Francine Rivers says it in A Voice in the Wind when she writes in the
preface, “As you drink from the deep well of Scripture, the Lord will refresh
and cleanse you, mold you and re-create you through His Living Word. For the
Bible is the very breath of God, giving life eternal to those who seek Him.”
2 )Family Devotions by
Josh McDowell- This devo is amazing because it discusses situations that kids
are going through or will go through, and it’s a great way to open up
conversations about topics like bullying, faith, smoking, knowing right from wrong,
self-control, and relationships. It uses bible verses, stories and questions to
help kids think about what they would do in certain situations. If we as parents
don’t teach our kids about these topics, then their peers surely will, and it
will be much easier for them to give in to what their peers are doing.
3) The One Year Mother
Daughter Devo by Dannah Gresh (with Janet Mylin) - She has such a talent for
words, and an incredible gift to write in a way that transcends the mind of
tween girls. If you are a mother of tween girls, get this book! I cherish this
time with my girls. This is our time to talk about “girl things” and build our
relationship. When my girls were younger, they loved the devotions about
amazing animals, the fruit of the spirit, and crafts. Now that they are older,
they are facing the situations that come up in this devo like standing up for
what is right, modesty, boys, and body image.
4) Moments With You by
Dennis and Barbara Rainey- The devotionals consist of a bible verse, story, a
discussion question or two, and a prayer. Life is crazy, and whether you are
going through sickness, financial stress, or just busy with work and your kids,
this a great couples “breather”. I often think of this as our mini marriage
retreat from the hurriedness of life! We put the kids to bed, turn on the twinkle
lights and pull out this book. Regardless of what the day has brought, when we
open this, it is our time to focus on each other as a couple.
We
work hard to do these bible studies because James and I want our family to be
shaped by something good. We want to build something meaningful into our lives,
in our marriage and in our relationships with our kids. We want our kids to
know that God values them and loves them, and often need that reminder
ourselves!
Do
we do all these things every day? No. We are often scrambling from school to
work to afterschool activities. Sometimes we grab one of these books and read
it in the car from one place to another. Sometimes we’ve hurried through our
entire day only to fall into bed and realized we haven’t touched any of these. The
other day James and I were trying to do our marriage bible study before he had
to leave and our oldest daughter decided to see if she could fit into a trash
bag at that precise moment. Every time James would start to read, we’d hear crinkle,
crinkle, crinkle. Finally after his third time trying to start the sentence, we
burst out in laughter. Here we were trying to catch a moment together as a
couple only to be thwarted by our twelve-year-old and a trash bag!
But
regardless of our crazy life, we keep pulling out these books because what we
read in our home, what we watch, what we hear, are all moments of time strung
together that shape us. The staples we ingest define our marriages, our
relationship with our kids, and our hearts.
