Happy Tuesday girls! I thought today I’d introduce you to some of my mentors - authors, that is! I have learned so much from these books, and since I am always on the prowl for another book to learn from, I thought I would share some good ones for you to try.
Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson is my favourite book. I could only handle one chapter at a time because I would have so much journaling and note-taking to do! It is about following God’s leading even when it takes us to dangerous places, and introduces ‘cages’ that we must be released from to truly live.
ChaZown by Craig Groeschel was huge for me a few years ago when I was trying to figure out who God made me to be and what my calling is in life. It is a very easy read and gives lots of opportunities to respond on paper. If you are at a point in life when you don’t know who you are, what you want, or what God has for you, read this one. I would recommend reading Wild Goose Chase right after.
A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser was the best book I read on grieving after my best friend Katharine died in a car accident. The author lost his mother, wife, and daughter in one car accident, and the book is his journey through grief and the lessons he has learned. This is a must if you or someone you know is grieving over the loss of a loved one.
The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan is about something we as Christians seem to have forgotten: taking a Sabbath day of rest. As a result of this book, I began to obey God in this area of my life, and for my last two and a half years at university I blocked off a day that for resting, enjoying life, and spending time with God and people. No homework or obligations allowed! This book will change your life if you put it into practice. I promise you. Do you feel stressed out, overwhelmed, and way too busy? Go get this book right now!
Captivating by John and Stasi Elderidge is a good read as well. It is about who God has made us to be as women. I read it in a time in my life when I was struggling with relationships, beauty, self worth, and who I was in Christ. God did a healing work in my life through this book.
Left To Tell: I just read this and was floored. Imaculee tells her story of discovering God in the midst of the Rwandan genocide. It is the best book I have read about Rwanda, and got me to take a good look at how strong my faith really is.
I hope these books are as big of a blessing in your lives as they have been in mine. Happy reading!
Michelle
Nancy Says:
April 9th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Right on Michelle.
May 6th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
I have really hard time with this post as I know so, so many women who have done all the suggested, above. They serve, they are humble, they are kind, sweet, gentle and strong women of God yet they have not found “him” and there is nothing they can to to make it just happen. Having been one of these women and having gone through all the angst of waiting and praying and longing for “Mr. Right” I think it’s fair to be frank about it and say “it sucks”. And it really does. It’s funny that the two things many women want from life, a husband, a child, are the two things they can’t make happen or even work for. Think about it. You can work towards a career, you can work towards getting fit but you sure can’t follow a program to find yourself husband, or have a baby. I had so many friends that would say to me “when you are ready you’ll meet him” and of course they were all happily married women, and had been since their early 20’s. I had one married friend that was gracious enough to not give me the spiritual BS and would just say “it sucks”. There is nothing we can do to change God’s timing and His timing is perfect but when you are walking that single, lonely path, longing for a man to share your life with, it sucks and it doesn’t help when you have “marrieds” telling you to devlop your character and spiritual growth. I mean this all in the nicest possible way, I’ve just lived it and know that most single women are not just hanging around, resting on their laurels, waiting for Prince Charming.
May 11th, 2010 at 10:26 am
Hi Michelle,
I understand what you are trying to say in this post. Not only as women, but as people, we are not validated by another person’s attraction or love for us. Rather, that is something to compliment a life, not to complete it.
However, in saying that, you have contradicted yourself by using language like ‘If you are not married, what are you doing to become worthy of being someone’s wife or girlfriend?’
I am a 28 year old single woman. I have a career I find satisfying working for an organization I believe in, I live in a city I am in love with, and I am surrounded by a strong and supportive community of friends and family. By myself, through my life, my values, my beliefs and achievements thus far, I am worthy. My ‘worth’ does not come from someone choosing to make me their wife or their girlfriend.
I WILL, as you said, ‘just wait around for Mr. Right’ because I will not settle for anything less then a man who is ‘worthy’ of being with me.
Thank you for your time,
J.
May 13th, 2010 at 7:02 am
Awesome thoughts girls…thanks so much for taking the time to express them on here. I have a feeling they resonate with a bunch of others who might read this post. Poppy love, you are very right that I am married and do not fully understand what it is like to be single anymore. However I do remember in my very early 20s being single and going to a stag and doe for friends…and driving home alone crying and screaming in my car at God because I felt so confused, discouraged, and left behind because I did not have what my friends did. It really does suck. I think the point I was trying to make is that instead of expecting a guy to be perfect, we must work on ourselves as well. I was not trying to say that if we do X, X, and X, a husband will come running to us. I just wanted to shed light on the fact that many women do not bother dealing with their own character because they expect a guy to be the solution to their problems. I do have alot of single friends, some of them very content with where they are at, and others really wanting to be married. I am sorry if I implied in any way that being single is easy for everyone. Having lots of married friends, I can imagine, could be very hard.
J, thanks also for your input. And thanks for pointing out my contradiction..I think I phrased wrongly what I meant once again! What I meant by ‘becoming worthy of being someones wife or girlfriend’ is that sometimes I see girls chasing guy after guy after guy, expecting him to be their saviour..meanwhile they are lazy about their own lives and character growth (obviously that is not the case for you, which is great). I was mainly addressing these girls…suggesting to them that the type of guy they are seeking probably won’t be found in a night club (I mean maybe, you never know…)…but going out and fooling around in attempts to find ‘the one’ will not attract ‘the one.’ This post really was not intended as much for women like you who are content with they job and community and who really just can ‘wait around’ until the timing is right. It was intended for girls who expect perfection from a guy without being serious about becoming they best they can be themselves.
Michelle