Books!

Our life's been a bit out of the normal routine lately. School ended and we soaked up a glorious week in Sunriver, and then we hit the ground running, using every bit of free time we had to work on the fixer property. It's been pretty all consuming, and there have been days I've wanted to cry from exhaustion, ;) but the hard work is paying off and I'm so happy with how it's all turning out, and how close the finish line is. But in the midst of it all I've been enjoying some good books, that have been a nice way to recharge, learn, and grow!

This spring, the book club I'm in, read The 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You. I'll be honest that I was both dreading and looking forward to reading it. Dreading, because I didn't want it make me feel guilty for using my phone. ;) But as I read it I realized that wasn't it's intent anyway. It was factual and thoughtful and not at all against technology. But it made me very aware of the power I allowed my phone to have in my life. I kind of wanted to do an experiment on myself and see if I could put some distance between myself and my favorite apps. Not that they were bad in any way! I just wanted to see if I could free my mind and time a bit by choosing not to fill my valuable mental real estate ;) with information and photos that honestly don't have anything to do with my every day life. It's something I've always kind of wanted to try, and finishing this book gave me the push I needed to try it. It's been a month since I changed the way I use my phone and I'm happy with the change, actually. Nothing ginormously life-changing, but I feel somewhat freer in my life. Less like I have to respond to everything outside my immediate circle, and I feel more focused on the physical world around me. I found that even though I gave up the use of a few favorite apps, I kind of filled in that void with the use of another fun app, so I'm not sure about any gains there, but I'm much less attached to my phone these days. I'm glad I did this experiment, simply because I know the end conclusion now, and don't have to wonder, but also because I feel that I've been set free a bit.

I recently finished The Emotionally Healthy Woman and I loved it! I needed to read this book and it opened my eyes to so many things that I was unaware of. It's about a woman who was so overextended in life that she finally had enough and said, "That's it! I quit!" and she was ready to just walk away from everything. But she worked through her issues in a healthy, Christ-centered way, and she shares her story to help others learn how to never get to a place where you're that depleted. I thought it was great "preventative medicine" and so beneficial to read! It really freed me from some faulty thinking and overfunctioning! (chapters 7 & 6). I think the last three chapters were my favorites.

Here's the table of contents:
1. Quit being afraid of what other's think
2. Quit lying (to yourself, and others when you say yes instead of needing to say no)
3. Quit dying to the wrong things
4. Quit denying anger, sadness, and fear
5. Quit blaming
6. Quit overfunctioning
7. Quit faulty thinking
8. Quit living someone else's life

A lot of her book lines up really well with the next book I picked up, which I'm still in the middle of:

I don't feel like I can fully comment on Boundaries at the moment, because I'm only half way through it, but I will say that I've highlighted something on nearly every page. :) It's been a great encouragement, and awesome to see how God made our world with order and how beneficial and healthy and freeing clear boundaries are. I've put what I've learned so far into practice, and it really has brought freedom to my life!! I'd say the greatest gains from this book have been in my parenting. I feel so much more empowered to love my kids well, and provide wise boundaries for all of us. Josh has commented on what a difference he's seen in me after reading these last two books. He says I seem so much more free to enjoy my life. That's definitely how I feel. :)

I'm also thoroughly enjoying reading Josephus  right now! Janet loaned it to me, and it's been amazing to read his historical account of Jewish life at the time right after Christ walked the earth. (Josephus was born in 37 AD.) I'm learning so many fascinating things. It's a nearly 800 page book, so when I saw it go on sale on Amazon I went ahead and bought it, so I could give Janet her copy back, because it's not a quick read by any means. But I'm loving it! I believe it was translated from both Greek and Aramaic.

I hope you're enjoying some summer reading! There's nothing like reading a book that changes you for the better. 💛