I have been a little MIA. On May 12th my Dad had his 3rd stroke since 2010 and I boarded a plane and went to be with my Mom. He is doing well and is currently in a rehab center to help him prepare to go back home to live soon. He is getting stronger each day.
This meant that my mind and time were spent somewhere besides the blog and social media. I am now back home temporarily. I will make the trip back once he is ready to come home. Reading in the cracks of my days has helped me move through this time with some connection… first to God’s Word and then to some nonfiction thinking and a bit of fiction distraction, too. A little distraction can be good as long as I am not escaping completely to avoid reality. LOL
I thought I would take a few minutes just to update what I have been reading here for you. Here is the list from May 1st to June 30th.
The Long March Home (May) by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee – I shared a full review for this one here so I won’t rereview it here other than to say that it was a remarkable book.
ESV Journaling Psalter (May) from Crossway Publishing – I have completed this one before. It is one I read a few times a year. It is the Book of Psalms with space to journal/write my thoughts and notes. I highly recommend that everyone have a copy of the Psalms. It is easy to pop in my bag and I did take it with me when I traveled to my parents in May. It has been a great comfort for me to have this resource.
In June I reviewed In the Shadow of the River by Ann H. Gabhart and you can access that review here. I really enjoyed this one, too.
During my time away Dan and I took a few days to escape to New Orleans, Louisiana for the SBC Pastor’s Conference and Annual Meeting. We had a lot of car time for that trip and our trip back to El Paso. We enjoyed 3 audiobooks during that drive time.
At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie was enjoyed as a part of the Agatha Christie website challenge (for me). It is a Miss Marple story. It was read by Stephanie Cole. I had seen the BBC versions of this a few times but it was still a bit different and I loved hearing it in it’s original form.
Return of the Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett (2 of the shorter stories made for movie production) was read by a varied cast of characters. It was more like listening to a play with stage direction. It was interesting but enjoyable. We have the full DVD set of the Thin Man series and have enjoyed the first three now. They are very close to the writings of Hammett.
The Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman was the third of our audiobooks. Hillerman was a modern mystery writer who wrote about the desert southwest… mainly New Mexico and Arizona. We are very familiar with the places he has written about and enjoy his stories very much. His stories are typically tribal with the main detectives being Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn. His daughter has taken up the pen to continue his stories and they are quite good as well. Many of these stories are read by George Guidall. He is fantastic! They are great trip listens if you are a western/mystery fan.
The last three books I finished up in June are all nonfiction.
But Then She Remembered by Katie Westenberg – This is a newly published book for 2023 and it is focused on ways to keep our minds on the things of Christ in a social media/distraction age. It was a beautiful reminder of ways to put Christ front and center in our days and in our minds. It is important to remember the things of God daily. It had some very specific ways and there were pages with Bible study opportunities to dive deeper if you choose to do so. It is definitely a favorite for this year so far.
Can’t Make This Stuff Up by Susannah B. Lewis (WhoaSusannah) – I have a paperback copy of this book but the audiobook went on sale for a few dollars about 2 months ago so I bought it, too. If I have a book and also the audio version I tend to read and listen at the same time. I find that very helpful with engaging more deeply with a book. Some books are fine to just listen to but sometimes a deeper dive is helpful. This one was made better by having the author read it to me. She is a southern woman with a southern drawl and I connected very personally with many of her stories. We have a lot in common… not everything, but my southern experience was a large part of her southern experience, too. I really enjoyed this memoir/testimony of how God met her at every turn. Her story is beautiful and hilarious all at once. I laughed… I cried…. I enjoyed every page. I already have her second nonfiction in my sights for August.
A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller – I was really surprised by this book. Miller has done ministry in several different venues throughout his life. He currently runs a global discipleship ministry called “See Jesus.” Miller shares personal experiences from many years of putting prayer into practice in his own life. He shares a lot about his family and the ways he has prayed for his children over the years. He focuses specifically on his daughter Kim throughout the book. Kim has had several physical and mental disabilities since birth. God has used her to teach the author many things about trusting God and praying for his family. The last section of the book is super practical. Miller walks us through how he built his own praying strategy for a daily prayer time. He is pretty thorough with what he uses to keep him in prayer constantly. It may be the most practical prayer book I have ever read.
So, that is where I landed for the end of June. I have a new stack I am building for the next two months. You know me… I will deviate from it and I won’t get it all done but I will try to put a stack up for you for July and August. I am not much of a “Summer Beach Reader” but I have a few summer themed books in the stack along with a list of nonfiction. I have a few audiobooks I am lining up, too.
What is on your summer reading list this year?
Do you have any recommendations for me and my readers?
If you just feel like saying hello or chatting feel free to leave a comment below and I will respond.
Your continued prayers for our family are appreciated as my Daddy is working hard to come home again. God has been so faithful to us through all of this. He is a God who sees and knows what we need!
Thank you so much for sticking with me here and reading when I post.
You all are so appreciated!
Until the next post,
May your days be cooler, your drinks be chilled, and your reading be abundant!
~Leann
Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash
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