Tuesday 29 November 2016

Books, Books, Books

As a mom, it's really hard to find the means to do those extra things that you enjoy doing. There's just not much free time after you feed the kids, wipe their bums, pick up the marshmallows that got dumped on the floor, pick them up again, try to workout, read your scriptures, pray, shower (but i think that's overrated), do the laundry, figure out supper, and then pick up those marshmallows just one more time and wonder why you ever picked them up in the first place. So why am I writing a blog post about books if I don't have time to read them anyway? Well, just like anything else, you make time for things that are important to you and I've actually been finding some time lately to read! And it feels so good!

Those who know me know that I have an all-or-nothing personality. I'm either going at 90 miles an hour or barely making it to 10. I'm either really, REALLY into something or I haven't done it in years. Balance is something that doesn't come easily to me, but I feel like I'm slowly making progress. So it shouldn't surprise you when I tell you that I'm the type of person finish a huge novel in one day (maybe two, if I take my time -- ha.) I can't help it. I forget that I'm an actual human being who lives on planet earth. I've avoided books since becoming a mom because I know my kids will be totally neglected and forgotten and my house will fall apart. But (and this sounds bad a first so hear me out) church books are different for me. When I read them, I don't have to finish them all at once. I can take my time with them. Ponder them. Let them work their way into my life one day at a time. I can feel satisfied after a few pages, and so that's what I've been reading since becoming a mom -- lots and lots of church books.

I've read some amazing books over the past few years and I'd thought I'd share some of my favourites with you. I'm not going to do them in any particular order because that would take too long, but there are a couple of favourites that I just have to place at the top of my list and then after that they're scattered. So here's the list:

1. The Peace Giver
By James L. Ferrell

You. Guys. This book honestly changed my life. It's my number 1 for a reason. It's really easy to read because it follows along a story, but it's so moving and so eye-opening that you cannot help but become a better person after having finished it. It teaches you all about charity and to how truly love others and also how to feel love from others (which for me has been a harder thing to do) This novel will change how you view relationships and your interactions with those around you. I can't say enough about how much I love this book. You just have to read it.

2. The Infinite Atonement
By Tad R. Callister

This book is a harder read than the Peace Giver, but it's well-known around the church for a reason. It's deep, insightful, and intense. I felt sort of frustrated while reading it at points because I knew that there were areas where I couldn't quite grasp what Elder Callister wanted me to see, but it opened my eyes to the infinite spectrum that the Atonement is and how to implement it more fully into my life. Wendy Watson Nelson gave great advice when she encouraged us in a women's conference in Cardston in regards to reading the book: she told us to study one page a day until you are finished and you will be a different person by the end. I think I'll take her advice the second time around.

3. Your Endowment
By Mark A. Shields

This was a book where I almost couldn't contain myself. I had to just keep reading more and more of it. Luckily the book wasn't very long so it was over quickly. It also was a book I was weary of reading. I'm not sure of the guidelines of what's appropriate to discuss out of the temple, and I wasn't sure what I would be getting myself into, but he acknowledges the reader's apprehension and bases his entire book on a few quotations made by either a prophet or other authority in the church, with the exception of talking about a few rites/rituals done in the ancient times which I remember talking about in seminary, so I felt comfortable with it.

I received some really cool insights on why we do what we do. It's a great book to read whether you've gone through for years or just barely going through for the first time. It also lead me to new ways of finding answers on my own to questions I have had since first going through. And I actually received those answers while in the temple through the Spirit. It was amazing! It was like a lightbulb went off and something just clicked. Then once I had received those answers, I couldn't believe I hadn't seen them before. His truths really are simple and yet hidden to those who don't have the desire to find them.

I want to add that this book may not produce the same results for everybody. These few questions that I had received answers to were honest-to-goodness questions that I had either at or near the very beginning of me first attending the temple. I finally found answers after attending the temple for 5 years. They were not questions that shook my faith or altered my testimony. They didn't leave me feeling dismayed or worried. I still have a lot of questions that haven't been answered yet. But without me asking the questions I did, I wouldn't have received answers, and the answers are truly amazing and have only solidified my testimony more. (**I'm going to write a blog post later about asking questions and the experiences I've had with them because I've asked a TON of questions over my life time and I've learned a lot of things along the way on the process of asking and receiving)

4. Amazed By Grace
By Sheri Dew

I love Sheri Dew. The way she writes, the way she speaks, the things she says all just resonate with me totally and completely. I just feel connected with her (I know, i'm weird.) But the lessons she's learned are the lessons I've learned. The questions she has are the questions I have. And in this short book on grace, she allowed me to see clearly so many things about grace that were hazy and foggy to me. It's like she was reading my confused little mind. Grace is an enabling power and she helps you see more clearly how you are using already and how you can more fully use it to better your everyday life.

5. The Tattooed Mormon
By Al Carraway (Al Fox)

Such a great read! She's an amazing person and she encourages you to fulfill your potential and not anybody else's. It's inspiring, uplifting, and I basically wanted to just give it my all in everything I was called to do after having finished her book. And although it's an autobiography of sorts, it allows you to realize your own potential, how personal our relationship with God can be, and how that relationship really is different for everybody.

6. Let God Love You. Why We don't; How We can
By Wendy Ulrich

This book has taken me a really long time to get through. It's been so uncomfortable for me let God's love come more fully into my life. I felt awkward during some of the exercises she encourages the reader to engage in, but I've noticed a difference in my relationship with my Heavenly Father, and also with Mark. She really allows the reader to see the parallel between the relationships we have with others and how that affects our relationship with God (especially in our marriage relationship). It takes you into your past in order to enhance your future. If you want to be closer to Heavenly Father, I really think you should give this book a go.

7. Jesus The Christ
James E Talmage

This book is so good, but also sooo long! I need to start reading it again because I actually didn't even finish it and I've forgotten quite a bit about what I learned from it. What I do remember, though, is how I loved the details Elder Talmage goes into about the different parables used by the Savior and the different miracles He performed. The deeper symbolism of them and the context surrounding them (meaning the way that particular people lived and their culture) opens your eyes to just how much of an impact those miracles and parables could've had on those particular people at that time.  It made them all the more meaningful to me. The book (from what I've read of it) really just brings you close to Christ and enhances your ability to feel love from Him, and who doesn't need that? In fact, I think I'll start it up again.

So that's my list. It's not very long, so if you have any church books that you love, I would LOVE it if you shared them with me. Post them on this blog post, or tell them to me in person. I don't care. It's just so hard to go into the church book store knowing what to buy or where to look. I'm so indecisive so I need all the help I can get.

So I hope you all cozy up with a blanket, some hot chocolate, and a good book during the Christmas season. And you know I'll be doing the same xo




2 comments:

  1. Have you read the Peter Potential? That one is really great too. Also a quick read, (like 20 minutes cover to cover) but it's awesome.

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    1. No I haven't. I'm going to now though! can you just get it at the LDS book store?

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