THIS BOOK IS ANOTHER “KEEPER”

Last night I finished a book that I will NOT put out in my Little Free Library in the yard or sell it in the bookstore. This is one I will want to return to again and again. It helped me “grow” that much.

Staci Eldridge’s Becoming Myself explores the inner battles most women face. It invites the reader to “step up and step out of every crippling, counterfeit thing that keeps us from the only thing, the everything that is Christ.” Many times I have said, “Someday I’ll get my act together.” Eldridge says, “not someday, but now!”

There is an abundance of material in this engaging book on which to base workshops, women’s motivational speeches and women’s retreats. One chapter I’d like to try my hand at presenting is titled, “Becoming Our Name.” It deals with meeting one’s authentic self and living up to the ideal of her. The first chapter, titled “Does Anyone Ever Change?” points out that lasting change takes time. Eldridge looks into the question, “How can we hurry up the process?” She invites us to look back, evaluate, and set goals. Many parts were quotable and well worth sharing. I guarantee you’ll come away with a kinder, more patient view of yourself.

This book has been on my TBR shelf so long that I don’t know where it came from, so it will help me with my 2023 challenges, fulfilling the Books From the Backlog Challenge to read 12 books from my TBR ranks in 2023.

RAE 3/12/23

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Thanks to the blog Reading Is My Superpower for hosting this meme and allowing me to borrow their image.

My Friday Firstliner for October 28th is as follows:

“In the quiet of early morning, honesty finds me. It calls to me through a crack in my soul and invites me to come out, come out wherever you are.”

These are the first two sentences of…

This is an inspiring, healing book. Subtitled “Living Loved When You Feel Less- Than, Left Out, and Lonely”speaks to women everywhere. The first chapter, “I’d Rather Ignore Honesty” explains it all. I have read the first third of the book.

FRIDAY FIRSTLINERS

First Line Fridays, hosted by Hoarding Books, encourages us to copy the first line of a book to see if it immediately “grabs” the reader.

Here is the first few lines of a book I hope to read soon, Bob Goff’s Everybody Always:

Chapter One, “Creepy People”

“My friends and I finished what we were doing at the restaurant and took the windowless van back to the airport.”

While they were in the restaurant, someone broke into the van and stole everything. A few minutes later, when they went to catch their plane, the author “reached into my pockets and turned them inside out. I had nothing…’Man, it all got stolen. My luggage, my wallet, everything.”

What a predicament to be in. I will be looking forward to finding out how Goff got out of it!

Have you ever read this author? He blends practical advice with a touch of humor and comes up with an engaging read every time.

 

TEASER TUESDAY

This little game, hosted by The Purple Booker, asks participants to open a book they are currently reading and copy a line or two in hopes of teasing others into putting that book on their TBR list. Be sure to give titles and authors, and no spoilers, please.

Mine for today is from Max Lucado’s Max on Life, a compellation of questions this famous inspirational writer has been asked and his unique, sometimes surprising answers to them.

This from page 111 “I like Jesus, I just don’t like his followers. At least I don’t like the way they behave. All this ‘amen’ and ‘praise the Lord’ seem phony.”

Max’s answer: “You aren’t alone. Hypocrisy turns people away from God. When God-hungry souls walk into a congregation of wannabe superstars, what happens? When God-seekers see singers strut like Las Vegas entertainers…When they hear the preacher–a man of slick words, dress, and hair–play to the crowd and exclude God…When other attendees dress to be seen and make much to-do over their gifts and offerings…When people enter a church to see God, yet can’t see Him because of the church, don’t think for a second that God doesn’t react…”

“Bottom line: don’t make a theater production out of your faith.”

 

FIRST LINE FRIDAYS

This fascinating meme, hosted by “Hoarding Books” asks readers to simply copy the first line or lines of a book, then ask their readers to state whether they would choose/buy that book based on its first line.

Here is my Friday Firstliner from John Ortberg’s YA version of ME, the me I want to be:

After asking the typically-teen question, “Why did God make me?”, Ortberg opens with,

“One week it was all the rage on Facebook to replace your profile picture with the photo of a celebrity who could be your double…I noticed a lot of people chose extremely attractive celebrities for them[selves] and claimed people say they look just like them. I wondered if some of those people might need contact lenses.”

Ortberg’s humor and self-depreciation is a delight to read.  Next to Max Lucado, Ortberg is my favorite inspirational author.