Hey guys! It's the last day of September. Can you believe it? Tomorrow starts my favorite month! At the beginning of this month I talked about my reading plan for the rest of the year and how I really want to buckle down and meet my resolution to read 17 books this year with 7 of them being non-fiction. As part of that buckling down, I'm going to start recapping what I read each month at the end of the month with mini book reviews.
So lets see what I read this month, shall we?
Reshaping it All by Candace Cameron Bure
Technically I read this one in the last week of August, but I wanted to include it because it was so life-changing! I may talk more about it in a later post when I talk about my fitness journey. I'm making slow progress so be looking for a few posts in the next few months.
But anyway, back to the book. As I said basically, this book changed my life. I've been looking at food the wrong way all my life. It's either my best friend and my comfort or my worst enemy. But food shouldn't be either of those things. It's purpose is to fuel your body. Candace talks about eating until you're satisfied but not over stuffed or even "full." She talks about eating foods that fuel your body and making the right decisions. She talks about being active. But she doesn't push a strict diet or exercise program. It's a lifestyle.
One of my favorite aspects of her book is the religious side, where she talks about turning to God instead of food and leaning on him to help you change your lifestyle. Another favorite aspect is the grace aspect. One of the biggest things I struggle with when I'm trying to be healthy is getting down on myself and giving up after I make a mistake. But Candace emphasized giving yourself grace, forgetting about yesterday, and keeping it up.
And lastly, one of my favorite quotes from the book is "Belief in oneself can carry a man to the top of a mountain. Belief in God can move that mountain aside." It's so true. I think many of us fail at our goals because, at least on a subconscious level, we don't truly believe we can succeed. And even more of us fail because we don't believe in God or at least we don't truly believe we can do anything through Him and with His help.
But anyway, back to the book. As I said basically, this book changed my life. I've been looking at food the wrong way all my life. It's either my best friend and my comfort or my worst enemy. But food shouldn't be either of those things. It's purpose is to fuel your body. Candace talks about eating until you're satisfied but not over stuffed or even "full." She talks about eating foods that fuel your body and making the right decisions. She talks about being active. But she doesn't push a strict diet or exercise program. It's a lifestyle.
One of my favorite aspects of her book is the religious side, where she talks about turning to God instead of food and leaning on him to help you change your lifestyle. Another favorite aspect is the grace aspect. One of the biggest things I struggle with when I'm trying to be healthy is getting down on myself and giving up after I make a mistake. But Candace emphasized giving yourself grace, forgetting about yesterday, and keeping it up.
And lastly, one of my favorite quotes from the book is "Belief in oneself can carry a man to the top of a mountain. Belief in God can move that mountain aside." It's so true. I think many of us fail at our goals because, at least on a subconscious level, we don't truly believe we can succeed. And even more of us fail because we don't believe in God or at least we don't truly believe we can do anything through Him and with His help.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I decided to read this one again before finally getting to the "new' (it's been out for over a year now) novel by Lee, Go Set a Watchman. It's been a long time since I was forced to read TKAM in school. I remember liking the book a lot. And I remember being baffled by the treatment of blacks. But I didn't remember just how bad it was. I cried at times. I got really angry at times. And I realized that we have come a long way even though we still have a long way to go. Our court system is still very flawed. And racism is still a major problem.
Atticus is my hero. And so is Miss Maudie. I'm a little hesitant to read GSAW now because I've heard that it paints Atticus in a very negative light and that he's not the hero we all knew. I admire and respect the character now and I don't want that to change. But, of course, I'll read it. Because, duh.
Atticus is my hero. And so is Miss Maudie. I'm a little hesitant to read GSAW now because I've heard that it paints Atticus in a very negative light and that he's not the hero we all knew. I admire and respect the character now and I don't want that to change. But, of course, I'll read it. Because, duh.
Boundaries in Marriage by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend
I didn't actually finish this one but since I'm doing an entire review next month as a collaboration with Amberly, I thought I'd include it in this month's "What I Read" post. Before reading this book, all I thought "boundaries in marriage" meant was setting strict rules like "you can't go out to lunch one on one with a co-worker of the opposite sex." which didn't set well with me. Especially when I was working from home. Then it felt like I was just being a jerk and putting all these rules on Pearson because I didn't trust him.
However, that's not exactly what the book is saying. In fact, the first chapter explains that the book was written with the purpose of setting boundaries in a marriage so that one partner doesn't dominate the other. That I can certainly get on board with. It's not about fixing or punishing your mate. It's about taking responsibility for your own feelings and actions. Boundaries help us to see where both our countrol and our spouse's control begin and end.
I'm excited to continue reading Boundaries in Marriage next month and to explore it with Amberly on the blog.
I'm also looking forward to reading Go Set a Watchman in October as well as a fun, spooky Halloween-y book!
What did you read this month? Have anything to recommend?
Thanks for reading!
However, that's not exactly what the book is saying. In fact, the first chapter explains that the book was written with the purpose of setting boundaries in a marriage so that one partner doesn't dominate the other. That I can certainly get on board with. It's not about fixing or punishing your mate. It's about taking responsibility for your own feelings and actions. Boundaries help us to see where both our countrol and our spouse's control begin and end.
I'm excited to continue reading Boundaries in Marriage next month and to explore it with Amberly on the blog.
I'm also looking forward to reading Go Set a Watchman in October as well as a fun, spooky Halloween-y book!
What did you read this month? Have anything to recommend?
Thanks for reading!
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