With the adoption taking up most of the writing here these past months, I haven’t had a chance to link to the books I’ve been reading. Many of the books I read this year weren’t published in 2014, but they came at just the right time to me.

In no particular order, these are the top 10

Daring Greatly

I wrote a bit about this book here to me, Daring Greatly is one of the books that should be required for life.

Battlefield of the Mind

I’m going to call this one the most life-changing book of the year for me. It showed me so many ways I was in bondage mentally and was a catalyst for God doing a mighty freedom work in my life. I look back now over 6 months later and feel like I’m living a different life internally than I was before. I believe God used this message to prepare me for our adoption and all the mental exhaustion we’ve endured.

Victim of Grace

Victim of Grace was another well-timed and applicable book. It’s a memoir about an author’s journey that bears a few similarities to mine. I was so encouraged by her story and was challenged to believe that God was working everything together.

Forever Mom. What to Expect When You’re Adopting

I wish I would have read this book before we adopted instead of several months into it. In any case, it did help me approach my parenting to Jac0b in a new way.

Boundaries

Man, this was a good one. Revolutionary for my life. If you are a people-pleaser in any way, feel drained from relationships or are reading these words, you need to read this book!

You’re Going to be Okay

I love Holley Gerth-her writing and her as a person. She’s so down to earth and warm and encouraging. I’ve had this book in my kindle for some time, but I picked it up just a few weeks ago and it felt like it was written just for me. If you’re going through any sort of stressful time, this is the one for you.

Soul Keeping

Soul Keeping is one those read-it-once-a-year books. I learned a lot about the mind, soul and spirit and was encouraged to do soul-giving activities. In fact, I might just read this for the new year.

Kisses from Katie

Here’s another one I was late on reading, but it’s the story of how a girl in her early twenties adopted 14 girls in Uganda. Inspiring, challenging and encouraging.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

This historical fiction was a fun one to read. The book is written in letters that sounds like it could be annoying, but actually works.  It’s World War II era near Europe. It sounds like it could be depressing, but it’s not.

 Outlander (<–Click! Kindle version is only $1.99)

Technically, I’m not 100% complete with Outlander. 600 pages is a lot! But I can already tell you, this was by far my favorite fiction read of the year. Yes, I’m on the bandwagon, finally. It comes with lots of adult-only warning labels, but it’s good writing with good characters.

I had a goal to read 50 books this year and only made it to about 33 plus a few half-read books. But still, given all our changes this year, I’m proud to have finished that many and very satisified with the return on the ones I read. Life-change, entertainment, encouragement, inspiration–books are the best!

Oh, speaking of reading, I’m leading a group to read through the Bible in 90 days starting on January 1st.  I’ve done it several times and it is always such a blessing.  I remember the first time I did it, it totally changed my perspective of God’s story. Request to join our closed Facebook group over here. We always have great discusssion, encouragement and reminders!

It’s last February and my daughter and her friend come in the house with great drama, “Mom, you have to download this song.  We heard it on CNN Student News today.  This guy Zach Sobiech has cancer and wrote this song called Clouds.  It is sooo sad!”

I hear Zach singing the catchy chorus, “Up, up, up” and my heart bends to the joyful sorrow of the song.

A few months go by and we stop for a moment to grieve when we learn of his death.  So young, so talented, so joyful.

It’s a month ago and I get an email with an announcement that Zach’s mother Laura Sobiech has released a book called Fly a Little Higher and they want to know if I want to read and review it.  I jump at the chance.

It’s Tuesday and I’m on page 283 of a 325 page book and Laura talks in passing about the song being featured on CNN Student News, creating even more media attention that it already had.  By this time, Zach is very sick and they are near the end of their journey, this journey I’ve been traveling with them through the book.  At this time, they are ignoring much of the Internet buzz just because there are so many hateful people with unhelpful suggestions and they are intent on spending their last days in peace together.  Laura says,

Whatever was going on in cyberspace didn’t have much to do with what was going on in real life.

I wrote my post Tuesday and read this line late Wednesday.  It hits me hard.

I cry when he dies at the end.

I’ve known the end since the beginning, but experiencing it with them, it breaks your heart.

And yet.

They had so much hope, so much strength in Christ, so much love for one another.  It was beautiful to watch it unfold.

One of the only reasons the Sobiech family agreed to share the song and so much media was to raise awareness and money to help save others with cancer.  In fact, Laura’s prayer when she found out Zach was terminal was that if he did indeed take Zach, that God would do something BIG with it.  Given the success of the song and story, I’d say God is answering in abundance.

If you want to be a part of this answer to prayer, download the song, buy the book or donate to the cause.  And more importantly, heed Zach’s wisdom:

You don’t have to find out you’re dying…to start living. –Zach Sobiech

This post is part of the Fly a Little Higher Blog Tour with hundreds of bloggers raising awareness and giving hope to those with cancer. To learn more and join us, CLICK HERE!

Sometimes I read books and walk away with one thing to take with me.   If I’m lucky, a handful.  But then, there are some books whose message makes me rethink everything.

As a blogger, author, entrepreneur, wife, and working and homeschooling mom, Tsh Oxenreider knows what it means to live the fast-paced culture of America.  And yet, while living extensively overseas, she also learned how to wear those labels in a slow, relationship-based culture.

After moving back to America, she’s relearned how to wear all those labels, get it done and yet, incorporate the slower lifestyle of other cultures so that she’s living the life her family craves.

If you read her blog for any amount of time, you know that Tsh speaks not from theory, but from an authentic voice of experience.  She knows how to leave the American chaos behind to live simply and yet richly.

She’s taken all that experience and written Notes from a Blue Bike, encouraging readers to take a break from the chaos and live intentionally.

In her book, Tsh suggests these are the five categories where we can be most intentional with our life. 

Work

Travel

Education

Entertainment

Food

Through engaging stories, she challenges her readers to not just mark some things off your to-do list to slow down, but to rethink the life your living.  You come away asking yourself questions like:

What will we do when we retire?

Am I doing the work I’m meant to do?

How much work is enough work?

How can I help educate my children—whether they’re in public school or homeschooled?

How can we entertain our family without the TV?

Where should we go on summer vacation and why?

What kinds of food should we eat?

I hope in some way we’ve all asked ourselves these questions, but in this book, we get Tsh’s wisdom on the answers for her family.  But what I love about Tsh is that she doesn’t suppose she knows the answers for your family—although she will insist you travel overseas at least once.  The doors are open wide for you to wrestle with the questions and figure out what is best for your family. 

After I finished the book for myself, I read—out loud and with a head cold, mind you—the entire section on Travel to Scott.  I read him my favorite chapter from the Work section, “Enough”. 

We are inspired.

I can’t recommend Notes from a Blue Bike enough. Required reading for everyone, ok?

Now, if you’re local, we have some exciting news.  Tsh is traveling on a book tour and is making a stop in Charlotte!  Follow along at The Art of Simple to get details when they come out.

In the meantime, I highly recommend you checking out these videos on each of the topics and then picking up a copy.

Food:  http://youtu.be/r5ROsqUvngQ

Work: http://youtu.be/78XtPP8n6go

Education: http://youtu.be/gjSPkNxdpLI

Travel: http://youtu.be/4y0cd2Yd7Bg

Entertainment: http://youtu.be/PZBYZQdMGxQ

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This post is part of the Blue Bike Blog Tour, which I’m thrilled to be part of. To learn more and join us, head here.

Notes From a Blue Bike is written by Tsh Oxenreider, founder and main voice of The Art of Simple. It doesn’t always feel like it, but we DO have the freedom to creatively change the everyday little things in our lives so that our path better aligns with our values and passions. Grab your copy here.