What book are you currently reading?
For me, this question has opened the door to some amazing conversations with friends and family. I find I can tell a lot about a person by the books he reads. And as an added bonus, I get free and personal book review on some great reads that I can add to my ever-growing “to read” list (my list is a mile long). I’m not certain what people would learn about me if they gauge me on a book list alone. I simply love books. I don’t overspend or go crazy about clothes, shoes, purses, makeup, gadgets — any of those things that are typical for my gender — it’s books where I have to “guard my heart and my budget.” From a biography to a murder mystery; from hot-off-the-shelf to hundreds of years old; fiction, fantasy, nonfiction, children’s board or picture, 1500 page theology-based, paperback, hardback, Kindle; it really makes no difference — I love books. Hours in a bookstore? Why yes! That sounds like a great date night to me — thanks for asking. 🙂 I have a passion for the written word and get lost reading and writing and yes, even Dictionary.com turns my crank (such a nerd).
Every now and then I pick up a book with gift-giving in mind and find that I will eventually give it away, but I usually have to go back to the store and buy another one because I’ve marked and ear-tagged “the gift” so much it’s really in a poor condition to give away.
I purchased “a gift” that fits this description last week, and if I had a ton of money, I would drop ship this title all over the world to my friends and family who have experienced (and continue to experience) what this author describes as “licking the floor of hell.”
Lysa Terkeurst, president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, in her new title, It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, gives her readers a glimpse into the struggle she and her family had through a breakup in her marriage and health issues concerning cancer.
But this work is not exclusively about Lysa. She opens the door to all who have experienced heartbreak, trial, struggle, and pain and through her gut-level honesty, coupled with her blatantly honest (and at times totally unexpected) quick wit, she allows the audience to see how to truly trust God when everything is turned completely upside down.
Yes, I purchased this book as a gift, but after devouring every page, I’ll be wrapping it up (used) to give away camouflaging it with a pretty red bow, but quickly getting online to purchase it again for myself.
I want this on my Kindle shelf to read again. Oh, and I have no doubts I’ll be recommending and gifting this title many more times because as long as we are on this side of glory, life will continue to not turn out the way we expected. And as long as we are on this side of glory, we will continue to need encouragement. I highly recommend that you add Lysa’s book to your gift-giving list this Christmas. You may find (as I did) that the perfect person on your list just might be yourself. Merry Christmas to you!
Here are just a few lines from Lysa’s thoughts:
“Are there any ingredients in your life right now — any difficult or disappointing situations — you wish you could just leave out?”
“Would you say you have been spending more time wallowing in turmoil lately or wrestling well with Truth?”
“Using God’s truth as your fighting words will not change what you see, but it absolutely will change how you see.”
“If we have a misunderstanding of God, we will most certainly have a wrong understanding of our circumstances.”
“It’s our choice whether we stay stuck in our hurt or get renewed in our hearts.”
https://www.thomasnelson.com/p/its-not-supposed-to-be-this-way-book/
Terkeurst, Lysa. It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: finding expected strength when disappointments leave you shattered. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 2018. ISBN: 978-0-7180-3985-1
Abundant Heart 