My Mid-Summer Bookbag

Reading and summertime go together like a hand in a glove.  A well-pedicured foot in a comfy flip flop.  A big ol' lemon wedge in an icy cold drink.  Or a colorful buoy floating in the ocean blue.  Here's some recent page-turners of note ... and most are only a click or two away.

How easy is that?  

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Transitioning to a new location ... or still feeling strangely unsettled in the town you live in?  Grab a copy of journalist Melody Warnick's well-researched personal story, This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live.  You'll want to highlight / margin jot / dog ear / journal her creative yet practical insights on lacing up your sneakers, buying local, saying hi to your neighbors, volunteering, and eating local food.  

This bright red volume is a super motivating, thoughtful read ... a bit long in spots, but honestly?  A book I most certainly needed to absorb.

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3 of my favorite online reads this month {as shared on my LinkedIn page * click here to connect with me there!}

First Things First: Practicing What We Preach ~ Ruth Haley Barton

'By the time you get this, I will have begun an eight-day silent retreat.  During this time, I will not have access to cellphone or e-mail and will only be reachable by an emergency number at the retreat house where I will be staying.  This is not a vacation.  It is not a week at a spa.  It is not a study leave or even a sabbatical.  This is a retreat - a time for giving God my complete and undivided attention and giving God full and uninterrupted access to my soul.  There is never an ideal time for this - only times that are better than others - but I am trying to practice what I preach and God knows I need it ...'

Seven Signs You are Too Busy ~ Alli Worthington

'Before I broke busy in my own life, I proudly wore my busy badge of honor.  Busyness made me feel productive and needed, and I overlooked the havoc it was wreaking in my life.  Oh, there were warning signs, but I just kept assuring myself I could handle the stress and chaos ...'

How small talk can form lasting relationships ~ Micha Boyett

'I dread small talk.  In my mid-twenties, soon after I got married, I entered the grown-up world of cocktail parties, where I inwardly groaned over the inevitable conversational effort that would be required of me.  I always felt that my husband had a magical gift that allowed him to be pulled into exciting conversations about theology or good books, while I always found myself in the corner, trapped in a back and forth over the latest episode of ...'

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Ann Voskamp's next bestseller is arriving on October 25th.  The Broken Way: A Daring Path into the Abundant Life.  The preview says, 'This one's for the lovers and the sufferers.  For those whose hopes and dreams and love grew so large it broke their willing hearts.  This one's for the busted ones who are ready to bust free, the ones ready to break molds, break chains, break measuring sticks, and break all this bad brokenness with an unlikely good brokenness.'

Sign me up.  You, too?

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One of blogging's greatest treasures?  Meeting kindred writers, adventurers, dreamers, and creatives from all over the world.  I'm cheering for two online friends in far off places who are launching books this month!  

If you're feeling like a failure in some area of life, Dr. Ifeoma Samuel has some very good news for you in her 116 page devotional, Overcome Failure: Get Back On Your Feet.  What a great little handbook to add to your quiet time ... complete with Scripture readings, questions to ponder, and action plans to walk you into a renewed, hopeful perspective.

And if you're struggling through 'grief, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, unprocessed childhood memories and recovering perfectionism,' you just might resonate with Anna Louise Smit as she shares her personal story  ... and what she has discovered just might be the healing touch you're longing for.  Love Embraced: A Journey in and through Suffering, is a 228 page memoir bathed in God's loving grace.

What page-turners are hitting home for you 

as the lazy days of summer are singing their final song?

<<  When Our Stats Become a Lurking Danger ... and a Bit of a Talkfest

What Saved Your Life This Summer?  >>

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talking books with 

Anne & Holley & Leah