July Reads

July Reads

Women of the Word Jen Wilkin: I'm sure that every true believer of Christ would say it is important to study God's Word but most of us could also say that it can be hard to know where to start.  Today it is so easy for women to get discouraged reading the Bible as they deal with various frustrations and time constraints.  Personally my biggest challenge during this busy season of life is the time constraint.  I simply don't have as much time as I desire to study my Bible but that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy a rich Bible Study experience with the time that I do have available.    Wilkin offers a clear plan to help women study their Bible deeper in order that they might treasure Christ even more.  I have read a few different books on reading the Bible and this book was so refreshing.  The author presents the 5 P's of Bible Study: Purpose, Perspective, Patience, Process, and Prayer.  Overall this book was great and I am sure I will be passing it along to friends in the future!  Please note that I did receive a review copy of this book from Crossway Books.

Answering Your Kids' Toughest Questions by Elyse Fitzpatrick & Jesssica Thompson: This book was a hard yet great book to read.  I know that a big challenge in my parenting in the future will be helping my children to understand difficult things in life such as loss, sin, death, wars, eternity, sexuality, and tragedies in their life.  Fitzpatrick & Thompson did an excellent job in this book helping parents to talk to their children.  I really enjoyed how the authors gave practical suggestions about possible things that you could actually say to your child.  They aren't suggesting parents read to their children from the book but I found it really helpful to see an example.  I also appreciated how the authors talked about how to talk to your children when they are preschoolers, 5-10, and 11 and beyond.  I thought this was very helpful.  Overall this is a great book that I am sure I will look to again and again in the future.  Please note that I did receive a copy of this book to review from Bethany House Publishing.  All opinions are my own.

The Duck Commander Family: How Faith, Family, and Ducks Built a Dynasty by Willie & Korie Robertson: I must say that I didn't really get into Duck Dynasty until right after Evangeline was born.  During her newborn days I found myself up often in the night nursing and one night I clicked on Duck Dynasty.  A few weeks later and I watched at least a few seasons.  :)  I'm about halfway through the book and it is great.  I have really enjoyed learning more about their family.  They really were ordinary people before Duck Dynasty was born.  :)

Kombucha Revolution by Stephen Lee with Ken Koopman: This book is all about making kombucha.  I have been brewing kombucha for probably at least 3 years.  If you have never tasted kombucha it is kind of like carbonated fruit juice with a zip.  To say that the author takes brewing kombucha seriously is an understatement.  This book was WAY too intense for me!  I really enjoy brewing kombucha once a week but I really just don't want to branch out into making kombucha into anything else.  If you have lots of time on your hands and a serious kombucha addiction you might enjoy this book.  Otherwise skip the book and just enjoy brewing your favorite flavor.  If you are new to kombucha there are many tips inside the book that you might find helpful.  Please note that I did receive a copy of this book from Blogging For Books.

7 Myths of Working Mothers: Why Children and (Most) Careers Just Don't Mix by Suzanne Venker:  This is probably the most controversial book that I read this month.  While I wouldn't say that I agree with 100% of the book I did enjoy reading it.  Venker makes a solid argument for the fact that in many career paths a woman simply cannot give 110% to both her job and her family.  She isn't against mothers working outside of the home and she would not say that she thinks that every woman should stay at home and never contribute to the income of the household.  The author simply encourages women to think of motherhood as their full-time job and then look for creative ways to fit other work around their first priority.  I know dozens of women who are doing just this.  I wish that this book was required reading for all high school senior girls before they enter college.  When I entered college motherhood and marriage was not even on my radar.  I would have definitely chosen a more family friendly major if I could do it all over again.

What good books did you read last month?