Small Victories

"Small Victories" by Anne Lamott

This is the second book I've read by Anne, while a little unconvential I do appreciate her candor and honesty.  This book is about "spotting improbable moments of grace".  This seems to be a running theme in the last few books that I've read, finding grace in the moments that seem like there is not a bit of it.  Life is hard, and messy, and painful, and full of grace and wonder and joy.  It's how we choose to look at things, and choosing is the hard part.  "I didn't know that wounds and scars were what we find welcoming, because they are like ours."  Wounds and scars are what draw us to others, knowing they have been through hardship and come out the other side is very encouraging.  Why do we try and hide our scars?  "...let's face it, it's so inspiring and such a relief when people find a way to bear the unbearable, when you can organize things so that a small miracle appears to have taken place and that love has once again turned out to be bigger than fear and death and blindness."  "You want to protect your child from pain, and what you get instead is life, and grace."  None of us can completely protect our children from pain and pain is where growth happens.  "This is how we make important changes-barely, poorly, slowly.  And still.  He raises His fist in triumph."  God rejoices with us when change is made, no matter how slow.  "I know that when I call out, God will be near, and hear, and help eventually.  Of course, it is the 'eventually' that throws one into despair."  Oh the waiting, the hardest part of God's perfect timing.  "Hope is not about proving anything.  It's choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim bleak s*@# anyone can throw at us."  Love is always bigger because God is love.

All The Light We Cannot See

This is an amazing book.  It is a very large book, over 500 pages but don't let that deter you, it is well worth the read.  The book is about a blind girl who lives with her father in Paris.  Her father works at the Museum of Natural History.  When the Nazis occupy Paris, Marie-Laurie and her father flee to stay with her reclusive Uncle.  They carry with them what might be the Museum's most precious jewel.  Meanwhile, an orphan named Werner is recruited to an academy for Hitler Youth.  He is very good at mathmatics and fixing things.  His abilities take him into the heart of the war and here he realizes the cost of where his life has taken him.  It is here that he has a brief and unexpected encounter with Marie-Laurie.  They are both trying to survive the awful war.  Their chance meeting will set the course for the rest of their lives.  This book is well written, mixing history with a bit of whimsy.  It keeps you turning pages and hoping for survival.  I highly recommend reading this book.  

One Thousand Gifts

"One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp

The author writes in a very different way, almost like poetry.  The book is about how the author started making a list of 1,000 things that she was grateful for and found joy through this.  She was able to find joy in the simplest things throughout her day and even joy in the hardships.  It is a book about learning that joy and greatefulness take action and those actions can change a heart.  Choosing to be grateful takes giving up control and trusting that we have a God who will take care of us no matter the situation.  Being thankful is the building blocks to the bridges of trust as we look back and see all that God has done for us and blessed us with.  Writing our blessings down, the little things that we are grateful for every day helps us become more aware of them and how blessed we truly are.  

What's Your God Language

"What's Your God Language" by Dr. Myra Perrine

This is a great book to figure out how you best communitcate and feel closest to God.  If you are feeling frustrated because early morning quiet times are not working for you this might open your eyes to other forms of connecting with God.  This book gives the nine main ways that people find connection with God.  The book has a few quizzes to help you figure out where and how you feel closest to God.  It gave me a new perspective, helped me feel less frustrated, and gave me new respect for others who do not connect like I do.  God created us all different so why wouldn't there be different ways to connect with Him?  

And Then Came the Angels

"And Then Came the Angels" by Beth Gayle

If you haven't noticed, I love an inspiring book, a book with tragedy turned to triumph.  This is such a story.  The author is the mother of a young man who was shot in the head with a shotgun in a hunting accident.  This book tells the long and hard journey of recovery and the faith it took to get through.  It is an amazing story of strength and God's divine hand of healing.  I appreciated the mothers honesty of the emotions that she experienced and how she clung to Jesus in her desperate times.  An amazing recovery happened that was nothing short of a miracle.  Gip, the son, overcame huge hurdles, pushed through great struggles and had the faith to move mountains.  If you need an inspiring book to read or need to be reminded that prayer works, read this book.  

The Promise of a Pencil

"The Promise of a Pencil" by Adam Braun

This was a motivational and great book.  If you think you can't accomplish something or you're too young, you need to read this.  The author knew since he was very young that he wanted to work in finances and his whole life was a clear path in that direction.  Then he did a semester at sea and he began to wonder if thee was more to life than what he had been chasing.  He backbacked around the world and would ask a child in whichever country he was in if they could have one thing what would it be.  One little boy said he wanted a pencil.  Adam had a pencil and he gave it to the little boy and this is when he realized that something as small as a pencil could change a childs life.  Adam realized that giving was better than receiving and he decided that he wanted to fund a school in a third world country.  He quit his job at the prestigious finance company and started a non-profit.  He has now opened many schools and his non-profit has received numerous awards.  Truly when we mix our passion with determination it is amazing the impact we can make.  "I believe that where you start in life should not dictate where you finish."  Because not everyone gets a fair start but I think everyone deserves a fair shot.  "We fear leaving those familiar surroundings, which is natural, but through exploration of the unfamiliar we stop focusing on the labels that define what we are and discover who  we are."  "In moments of uncertainty, when you must choose between two paths, allowing yourself to be overcome by either the fear of failure or the dimly lit light of possibility, immerse yourself in the life you would be most proud to live."  So good, so, so good.  Live the life you would be most proud to live.  What a great statement.  The first school Adam built was dedicated to his grandma who was a concentration camp survivor.  When he told her why he was building these schools and helping others she responded, "It feels like this is why I survived.  I survived for this.  It feels like it's all coming back to me, everything I suffered for is coming back to me, but in good ways.  All the bad things I went through were for these good things to happen."  God sees the suffering and He always turns beauty for ashes. "...that the biggest opportunities for growth are not found in the midst of success, but in the methods through which we address failure."  Growth occurs when we fail and get back up again, willling to try again.  We can't reach success until we've failed.  "Here's my best advice: make the little decisions with your head and the big ones with your heart."  "Certain people help you see a future that you could never have envisioned without their influence.  They make you a better version of yourself."  Surround yourself with these people.  "...you can't keep saying, 'I'll get started tomorrow.'  The world has far too many problems, and you are way too smart and capable to not help tackle them.  Your time is now."  Take that first step towards what you've always wanted to do and start living the life you've always wanted to live.  "I'll tell them that the most direct route to happiness is through creating joy for someone else, and that change doesn't happen through hard work alone."  I highly recommend this book.  Read it and be inspired.

Now You See Me

"Now You See Me" by Kathy Sanders

This was a great and amazingly powerful book.  The author is the grandmother of two little boys who were killed in the Oklahoma bombing.  She was one of the very first on the scene and she became the spokeperson for the victims.  Kathy struggled to go on with life after her grandsons were killed.  She struggled with her faith and she was determined to find out why this happened.  In her search for answers she finds forgiveness towards those that committed the crime.  She even befriends the perpetrators and their family.  This is an amazing story of forgiveness that can only come from God.  No one would forgive and be friends with the person that killed their loved one unless God was at work.  And the healing that Kathy received from opening her heart and listening to God was a healing beyond what she expected.  "Clearly His blessings come with bonuses."  What a great statement, God really does desire to bless us beyond what we could ever imagine.  "Our uncommon pain became our common denominator."  When you suffer through something with others there is a bond that is unbreakable.  "His invisibility need not diminish His power to comfort."  Just because we can not see Him doesn't mean He isn't there and that He can't bring comfort.  'It's the constant push and pressure of everyday life that forms character ever so slowly-so slowly that we do not even notice it happening." when we look back on a year or a month we see the challenges we have faced and how we have grown.  "God has given each one of us a little chunk of eternity called time.  Each one of us is the steward of what time we are given.  These precious moments of opportunity are given to us for our benefit and God's glory."