What’s on the Book Pile? Winter 2023

I’m especially excited to share my book pile this season, because I have officially started my reading list for my Spiritual Direction training with Selah! I was happy to see that several of the books were ones I wanted to read anyway, so I am starting with those.

N.B. These are not recommendations, unless I specifically state that I recommend a particular book. This is simply what I am currently reading. If you’d like to know more about a specific book, or recommendations for you or your children, feel free to contact me. I love to recommend books for kids of all ages! You can also follow me on Goodreads.

From top to bottom:

1. Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina. (E-book, borrowed with Libby) I decided since I love middle grade fiction so much (and am even attempting to write one), that I should read through medal winners in this age group. This book won the 2019 Newbery Medal.

2. Reading the Sermon on the Mount by John Stott. This is a book we are working through in my small group at church.

3. The Deeply Formed Life by Rich Villodas. I have been following this author for years on Instagram and so appreciate what he has to say, so I was so excited to see his book on my Selah reading list!

4. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. This is a re-read and is still on my pile from the end of summer! I am enjoying reading it slowly and remembering how much I loved it from my childhood.

5. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books by Harold D. Underdown. This is the most recommended book on how to write and publish a children’s book. So if it’s something you would like to pursue, definitely pick up a copy! Reading this, and joining the SCBWI, are now my go-to recommendations when someone asks me for advice.

6. Kingdom of Ash by Sarah Maas. Finally going to finish this young adult series.

7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. Reading the illustrated version with my 9-year-old. Highly recommend!

Not pictured: The Hero of Ages: A Mistborn Novel (The Mistborn Saga, 3) by Brandon Sanderson. This is one of many excellent fantasy series by Sanderson. I am listening on Audible and enjoying them immensely. Definitely recommend if you like an easy to read fantasy.

Finally, I am also reading a lot of children’s magazines, mostly for research - to see if any of my children’s stories would be a good fit! But they are also entertaining and I know my son will enjoy them when I’m done.

I just became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️

Book Recommendation: How to Babysit a Grandpa

How to Babysit a Grandpa by Jean Reagan is another one of our favorite picture books. My son loves the hilarious idea of the kids babysitting the grown-ups for once! (I mean, who doesn’t love a good role-reversal story?) Amazon suggests the age range to be ages 2-6, but I bought this three years ago when my kids were 6 and 9, and they still love it!

From Amazon:

Here's everything a kid needs to know to spend a fun-filled day with grandpa! Written in a how-to style, the narrator gives important tips for "babysitting" a grandpa, including what to eat for snack (anything dipped in ketchup, ice cream topped with cookies, cookies topped with ice cream) what to do on a walk (find lizards and dandelion puffs, be on the lookout for puddles and sprinklers), and how to play with a grandpa (build a pirate cave, put on a scary play).

From the author-illustrator team behind the New York Times bestselling HOW TO... books comes a funny and heartwarming celebration of grandpas and all that they do! This is a great gift for or from a grandparent, and perfect for lap reading when Grandpa comes to visit!

I just became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️

Fun with Faces

I could only get two four out of seven of the latest “Fun with Faces” drawing challenged that I joined, hosted by Charly Clements. But I do love the ones I got done! Feel free to guess what the 3-word prompts were for each one!

On Becoming

With eyes full of stars, a heart of joy,
And simple life, full of affection.
Content to just be who you are!
And that has been perfection.

But now you are becoming more,
No longer gazing at the skies,
Maturing from the child you were.
And tears, not stars, now fill your eyes.

You are growing into who you will be,
Not losing who you were before.
Becoming is not a loss, but a gain:
You are who you were, just so much more.

You wonder and worry about who you will be,
And mourn what you are succumbing.
May your eyes fill back with stars when you realize
The radiant, true self you are becoming.

Book Recommendation: Mae Among the Stars

Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed is an absolutely beautiful book for children about the first African-American woman in space, Mae Jemison. I will admit that I bought this as I tried to diversify the main characters and authors in my house. But honestly, it stood up on its own. It is a sweet and encouraging book for children to work hard and follow their dreams.

From Amazon:

A beautiful picture book for sharing and marking special occasions such as graduation, inspired by the life of the first African American woman to travel in space, Mae Jemison. An Amazon Best Book of the Month!

A great classroom and bedtime read-aloud, Mae Among the Stars is the perfect book for young readers who have big dreams and even bigger hearts.

When Little Mae was a child, she dreamed of dancing in space. She imagined herself surrounded by billions of stars, floating, gliding, and discovering.

She wanted to be an astronaut.

Her mom told her, "If you believe it, and work hard for it, anything is possible.”

Little Mae’s curiosity, intelligence, and determination, matched with her parents' encouraging words, paved the way for her incredible success at NASA as the first African American woman to travel in space.

I just became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️

Book Recommendation: Stranger Safety

Once Upon a Dragon by Jean E. Pendziwol is my absolute favorite book on stranger safety for kids. Not only does it teach a comprehensive list of safety rules (including an actual list to go over with your kids in the back) but it presents them in such a fun and clever way, using familiar storybook characters to get the point across. For example, the Big, Bad Wolf is definitely a stranger you should run away from! I also love that it teaches about “safe strangers” like police officers (and I always included other moms with kids when I discussed this with my own children).

From Amazon:

After a thump-bumping ride on a slide, a little girl and her dragon friend find themselves inside a fairy-tale book. The stories are familiar, and there's lots of silly fun as the dragon is transformed into fairy-tale characters. But danger lurks in the form of strangers --- including the hungry wolf from ?Little Red Riding Hood? and Snow White's evil stepmother. And it's up to the girl to keep an eye on the dragon, who walks alone through deep dark woods and takes treats from people he doesn't know. Little by little, the girl teaches her irrepressible friend to be careful about strangers. The winning combination of fairy-tale adventure and concrete safety information --- including the Dragon's Stranger Safety Rhyme and the checklist of rules at the end of the book --- provide the perfect starting point for discussions with children about stranger safety.

I just became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️

What of Salt?

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

These are familiar verses, but a recent conversation helped me to see them in a new way. The idea of light and darkness makes sense to us. We talk about the looming darkness all the time. We focus on the darkness, probably more than we should. So the idea of Jesus being the Light, of us being the light, makes sense. This poor, sad, dark world needs light.

But what of salt? Why do we care about being the “salt of the earth”?

In those days, salt was used more for the preservation of something than for just adding flavor. If we are called to be the “salt of the earth”, what then should we be preserving?

I’ve heard it said that this metaphor is about “good, Christian living”, about being faithful to Christ in the world, about preserving what is good. But I don’t think that’s completely true.

What if being salt was actually a question of remembering our identity? And perhaps helping other people recognize their identity, worth, and purpose as well.

In my life, I have been amazed that the closer I draw to Jesus, the more I want to be like Him, the more I submit to Him, the more I actually feel like my true self! It is one of the greatest mysteries to me of being a Christian: that I can work to emulate someone else, and in turn, become more me. What a gift to feel secure in my identity because of Jesus! Jesus is my salt: the preserver of my true identity. I want to be salt for others: to help them see who they really are in Him.

It’s interesting to me that salt doesn’t actually ever lose it’s saltiness. Then why would Jesus have said that? But if we think of salt as a question of identity - made in God’s image, made to be His children, loved by God - than that can absolutely never change, even whether you believe it or not.

But we can forget.

Or not even know it in the first place.

I don’t think that being the “salt of the earth” is about preserving some sort of Christian sub-culture. That interpretation of the metaphor is far too weak.

Our job as salt is to remind or show others that they are salt, too. Each and every person, whether they know Jesus or not, has been made in God’s image and is loved unconditionally by Him. That is what gives us hope and makes us worthy. That gives us purpose. That is our identity.

Salt and light working together help us to know each other and ourselves better. And most importantly, they point to the true and greatest Light, Creator, and the One in whom our identity is complete: Jesus.

Book Recommendation: Author Natalie Lloyd

I have decided to add middle-grade fiction to my book recommendation blog posts. It is one of my favorite genres so I thought it might be useful to pass on some of my favorites.

The first books that come to mind are anything written by Natalie Lloyd. They are always incredibly sweet, with good characters and fun, original storylines. Usually the stories involve some magical/fantastical elements, but within the realm of our world. I would say her audience is probably late elementary/early middle-school aged girls. (I say girls because most of her protagonists are girls, though not all.)

These are the books of hers that I have read and recommend:

The Key to Extraordinary

Over the Moon (this one takes place in a fantasy world)

A Snicker of Magic

The Problim Children (several different narrators, both boys and girls)

Overall, these are all great books if you have a 10-12 year old girl, or if you are looking for a sweet, simple read yourself! If you or your child reads them, I always love to hear what you thought!

I just became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️

2023 Word of the Year

I never understood the point of a word(s) of the year until I started thinking of it like a lens. Like if I could put on my “grateful glasses” in order to see the world that way. It’s like a way of training your mind.

I also don’t think you need a new year to start putting on different lenses! Start anytime! And here are a few words to give you some ideas. Feel free to save any of these to use as a reminder for yourself.

Do you choose a word for each year?

Frosty and Festive

This month I entered a festive drawing challenge and here are a few of the pieces!

True Light Has Come

Do not pretend, oh you who are distressed,
That darkness your weary heart does not bind.
The joy and hopes of ones so long oppressed
The falsely merry lights of Christmas blind.
But truly, Light did not so come for light -
This Season is not just for the merry -
For what matter is light if not for dark?
And who is Christmas for, if not the weary?
Oh merry Christmas, what true light hast thou
For our deep darkness here? So now please shine
Thy soft, sweet Light; lest darkness we allow
To reign in precious body and the mind.
But Grief is welcome, with hope alongside,
Because true Light did come at Christmastide.

Book Recommendation: Noisy Christmas!

A Very Noisy Christmas by Tim Thornborough might be my new favorite Christmas picture book for little ones. The illustrations by Jennifer Davison are absolutely lovely, and the reading instructions (loud and soft, “shhhh”) is a charming and captivating idea for toddlers to kindergartners, and maybe even older kids! (I always think the age range given by Amazon is way too narrow.) This was my most recent addition to the nursery at my church, and I highly recommend it!

From Amazon:

Some people think that Christmas was a "Silent Night". Far from it. It was filled with shouting, singing and screaming! It was as noisy as any of our Christmas celebrations.

This fun and fresh retelling of the Christmas story comes with invitations to make some noise, so that children can join in as parents read to them. But it also shows children that at the heart of the Christmas story is something we should all be quiet and see: God’s Son Jesus was born, so that we can be friends with God forever.

I just became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️

Book Recommendation: The Littlest Watchman

Today I had the pleasure of reading The Littlest Watchman by Scott James to four kids in Sunday School, all around age 8 and it was a delight. They gasped in all the right places, they made clever predictions, and they wanted to know if it was a true story. That last part was my favorite, because then I could read the very last page, which tells the true story of Christmas (while also explaining that Watchmen are made up). This is the perfect story for Advent, because it is all about waiting.

From Amazon:

Benjamin is a Watchman. It's his job to watch for the sign that all God's promises are coming true. It's his job to watch a stump.
Trouble is, it's hard just waiting. And one night, Benjamin finally gives in and stops watching. But that same night, as he sits outside Bethlehem, he gets to watch something wonderful.
Kids will be gripped by what Benjamin saw, and will be excited by the Christmas story all over again.

Amazon suggests this book for grades 1-2, but the kids I read to today were grades 2-4, and they all loved it! I highly recommend this story for you and your family as you await the coming King this Advent season.

I just became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️

My Shop

Every year, I wish that I had signed up to do some Christmas craft shows. I feel like I come alive around Christmas, because I can do craft after craft, gift after gift. But even though I never participate in any craft shows, I use my love of crafts and gifting for friends, family, my amazing Children’s Ministry volunteers, and the kids at church. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see some of them pop up in my stories, and sometimes I give mini tutorials.

All this to get to my point: Although I do not have any crafts for sale (I still take occasional crochet orders), I do have a shop on Society6 where you’ll find a lot of my artwork, including the Christmas ones pictured below. But I love browsing all the other artwork on Society6 as well, and you can get a huge variety of products! So take a look and support an artist this holiday season (it doesn’t have to be me!).

You Voice Matters

I was thinking recently of the freshman girl who was asked, her first week of college, “what’s unique about you?” And she answered “nothing. There is absolutely nothing special about me.” And she completely believed it.

Sometimes I grieve for that young girl, but I know there are good things to come.

I am so thankful for being transformed from that girl into the woman that I am now, who heard God say I am delightful, and can lean into that Name. (In my darker moments I find it hard to believe, but mostly I just marvel when I see it’s true.) I was recently surprised when I realized I could walk into a room with more confidence in my voice, knowing that I had something important to add to the conversation.

But perhaps, even more importantly, I’ve learned how much YOUR voice matters to me. I’m better if I listen to you, especially if your voice may sound different from mine.

If you don’t think your voice matters, trust me, it does. Your life experience, your expertise, your interests, all matter! So let’s just take the time to listen to other voices, and make sure they know they matter just as much as our own.

Book Recommendation: A Native American Family Story

Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard.

I was hoping to get this book recommendation done for Indigenous People Day, but I didn’t want to rush reading through this book. It has some author’s notes at the end that explain each picture and about what it’s like to be an American Indian. I wanted to take the time to really soak it in and learn, and now think getting this book recommendation out in time for Thanksgiving is equally appropriate.

This is a book that celebrates the Native American culture, through the story of Fry Bread. I definitely recommend it for young readers for it’s lovely pictures and sweet story, but maybe even more for adult readers who want to honor what was lost.

A lot of people will relate to the idea of food and recipes being handed down as part of their heritage and culture. Additionally, there was a line in the book that was especially powerful for me, as a Christian. “[Bread] are communions, meant to be shared and loved with others, because bread is not meant to be cooked for one.” What a lovely picture of the Eucharist, a meal of bread meant to be shared with our family of believers, handed down from the generations before us.

If you are looking for a book to read to your kids around Thanksgiving, pick this one up. Not only can you learn about the indigenous people of this land through the story (and end notes), you can show your kids the value of sharing a special meal together.

I just became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️

“Facetober” Drawing Challenge on Instagram

This past month, I participated in a drawing challenge for each of October’s 31 days. Every day, we were given a three prompts and had to reflect them in our drawing/illustration. This was a challenge for me, but I’m so proud of myself for finishing every day!

Here are some of my favorites.

What’s on the Book Pile? Autumn 2022

My book pile looks a little different than normal! Usually it’s full of middle grade fiction and mysteries, but this fall I’ve taken a lot of recommendations from friends and family and so the current pile is a bit of a hodgepodge.

N.B. These are not recommendations, simply what I am currently reading. If you’d like to know more about a specific book, or recommendations for you or your children, feel free to contact me. I love to recommend books for kids of all ages! You can also follow me on Goodreads.

So let’s dive in!

1. Beach Read by Emily Henry, recommended by my cousin. A light, romantic comedy, but not recommended for younger readers.

2. For the Life of the World by Alexander Schmemann, recommended by my husband. We don’t often read the same books. But something about this one really spoke to him and he asked me to read it. This doesn’t happen often (or maybe, never before?) so I am honored to read it for him. (It’s a stretch for me and my fiction-loving ways, though!)

3. Tower of Dawn by Sarah Maas, recommended by a friend. I had started this series years ago, but they were a bit too intense for me. By the end of book 5, I couldn’t take it any longer and took an indefinite hiatus. Recently, I was encouraged to get back into the series by a friend, so I’m going to give it a go!

4. The Bad Guys (book 5) by Aaron Blabey, recommended by my son (8) who absolutely adores this series. I’ve already read books 1-4 and they are cute and silly. He is just very persistent that I finish the entire series, though (17 books and counting!), and who can resist his adorable face???

5. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot, recommended by my church reading group. I have listened to this one multiple times on audiobook, but it’s fun to read it through again. I read through about half of them with my kids, most of stories going over their heads. One story in particular, though, hit us all where it hurts: the story of an older dog dying. I blubbered through it the best I could, and I’m pretty sure my kids cried with me. It was a surprisingly sweet moment.

6. Start with Hello by Shannon Martin. This one I picked up myself and have been devouring it. She had me hooked when she spoke of herself as a “shy, awkward introvert”, which is exactly how I would describe myself! I appreciate that this book ties in nicely with my current small group study on how to make friends and be a light in the world. I even sent Shannan Martin a note through Instagram thanking her, and she sent the kindest reply! That makes me want to read her books all the more.

7. Book of Psalms. This is a book of the Psalms with beautiful photography interspersed throughout. The way it is laid out just makes it a pleasure to read. I like to read them out loud for the full effect of the poetry. Just lovely.

8. And finally, Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard. This will probably end up in my book recommendations for November, but I wanted to read it through and savor it one more time. It has a lot of information at the end, and I want to make sure I take the time to learn and absorb it fully before writing about it on my blog!

Not pictured:

I am finishing the Manor House Mystery series by Kate Kingsbury on my Kindle. It’s been fun to read these 9 books, especially as I started them when we visited the English countryside this past August! These are the epitome of cozy mysteries.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien on Audible. This is a re-read (re-listen?) of many times over, but this time is with my son. It has been a delight to listen with him and watch him become enamored with Bilbo, Frodo, and the One Ring to Rule Them All.

I just became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️