11 Books I Read in 2012

One of the goals that I established for myself back in March of 2012 was to read more books. Well not so much more. Just read books, period. Because it’s something I hadn’t done in a while.

Not only was I successful in accomplishing my goal, but I found my life radically changed and influenced by some of the books that I read. Here is the list of the books that I completed and how they affected me.

The Fitting Room: Putting on the Character of Christ by Kelly Minter. This was the first book I started reading as it was the Bible study I chose for first semester of PWOC. The main thought that I took away from this book was that we are to be virtuous, not to gain the favor of God, but because we already HAVE the favor of God. This book is based on the verse Colossians 3:18, which says that BECAUSE we are chosen, holy, and dearly loved by God, we should live virtuous lives. So many times this is taught the other way around, and I have spent years of my life trying to win God’s favor by being virtuous. I’m very thankful for this book and for the classroom discussion that surrounded each chapter. It was because of this book and how my Bible study leader taught it that I was initially convicted about staying off of Facebook for a month, which spurred on a snowball of other life decisions, realizations, and changes. This really is the book that started it all for me in 2012.

Loving God with All Your Mind by Elizabeth George. Shh…I actually haven’t finished this book yet, but I’m very close to the end, and it deserves to be included in this list because it really was instrumental in bringing about some changes in my life. I discussed how it showed me how prone I am to believe lies of the devil, especially in regard to my self-image, in my post about Silencing the Inner Voices. It also helped me realize how important it is for me to plan ahead when it comes to my day-to-day life, and how having a plan for the following day can really help set the next day up for success. I really struggle with being organized and scheduled in this way and will probably never be great at it, but this book has brought me at least to the point of trying to be more intentional about what’s going to happen each day instead of just winging it completely. This book is a little bit more conservative and heavy, is full with Scripture, and so I’m working through it very slowly.

Jump off the Hormone Swing: Fly Through the Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Symptoms of PMS and Peri-Menopause by Lorraine Pintus. I picked this book up on a whim at the grocery store, but it has probably been one of the best book purchases I’ve ever made. This book was so encouraging and eye opening. To my knowledge, is the ONLY book on the market that addresses how hormones affect women spiritually, and how they can respond in a way that both understands what’s happening physically, but still aims to please God. It’s full of warm humor, heartrending stories and anecdotes, and loads of practical down-to-earth advice. I read this book at a time when I was having a lot of difficulties with hormone imbalances due to my allergy shots, and it was exactly what I needed to help me through some of those darker days. I personally believe that every woman should read this book!

You’re Already Amazing: Embracing Who You Are, Becoming All God Created You to Be by Holley Gerth. This book, above all I will list in this post, probably changed my life the most. For the first time I looked at myself through new eyes and saw me, just me. Not who anyone else wanted me to be or thought I was, but who God made me to be. I blogged about this book extensively back in the spring as it was instrumental in changing how I use social media (primarily Facebook) and how I want to interact with my friends and family. I highly recommend this book to women everywhere, especially those who struggle with identity and feeling like they don’t know who they are anymore.

The Vow: The True Events that Inspired the Movie by Krickett and Kim Carpenter. After I saw the movie The Vow for my birthday and had heard that it was based on a true story, I really wanted to read this book. It was very engaging and an easy read. I found myself tearing up a lot at the story of a woman who’s life was forever changed by a traumatic brain injury. I loved hearing about the struggles of their marriage and how they trusted God to put their lives back together. It was highly inspirational.

Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic. This book was very short and sweet, an easy read. I can’t say that I learned anything from it, but it helped me get through some long summer days with Ezra and reminded me that there is so much good during this time in our lives, as hard as it is. It was very encouraging and probably a book that I will re-read in the future.

Hope for the Weary Mom: Where God Meets You in Your Mess {I read the first edition} by Stacey Thacker and Brooke McGlothlin. This book was simply a breath of fresh air. The encouragement in knowing that it’s okay to feel and be weary. And that I, most definitely, was not alone in the weariness of motherhood. This book has since been expanded, the content almost doubled, and the new expanded edition was released a few months ago. I am currently reading the new edition and it is also stellar. You can find more about this book and the current online book club by checking out their website at hopeforthewearymom.com.

Beyond Bath Time: Embracing Motherhood as a Sacred Role by Erin Davis. This book, like the two mentioned above, was encouraging and uplifting. Honestly I was reading all three of these books at the same time so there was a lot of overlap in the content in my brain as they are all sort of similar. “You’re not alone, you need help, you need community, you need encouragement. It’s okay to feel discouraged and weary. Join hands with other mothers and find hope!” But where Beyond Bathtime really met me was in the area of vision, in that what we do as mothers is so much more about the today, or even 10 years from now…but how it goes on to affect future generations. What a huge opportunity we have to affect the world simply through mundane acts like laundry, diaper changes, and rocking our babies to sleep.

Mindset for Moms: From Mundane to Marvelous Thinking in Just 30 Days by Jamie C. Martin. This ebook was simply amazing. It complemented so well the aforementioned motherhood books and took it a step beyond into the area of mental self-care for mothers. It was so incredibly practical and has impacted me a lot in several areas–including realizing that I am in fact an introvert and that writing is not just a hobby but in many ways a need, and how dreaming big dreams is not only okay but can have a positive impact on my life and mothering.

Parenting Wild Things: Embracing the Rumpus by Jessica Bowman. This book was so incredibly helpful and I’m so glad I stumbled across it on Amazon. I was looking for a book that discussed how to practically and positively parent and discipline children, especially boys, without taking a staunch pro-spanking or anti-spanking approach. Jessica’s book does just that. While she personally does not spank her children, she discusses the issue with balance and grace, and her book is full of practical ideas and a balanced mindset on how to positively raise active crazy children. She focuses on things like redirection, relocation, telling kids what to expect in advance, and not talking down to kids simply because they are kids. As a brand-new mom with so much confusion and doubt about what’s the best disciplinary approach to take in certain circumstances, this book was helpful in giving me ideas that I honestly probably would have never thought of before. Jessica’s writing style is humorous and very transparent, and she shares a lot of her own parenting mistakes. I cannot recommend this book enough!

The Mom Factor by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. I actually purchased this because of the well-known authors along with their well-known books on boundaries in marriage and parenting, but ended up reading it first. This book discusses how our upbringing and how we were parented by our own mothers factors into our lives as adult children. The book focuses on honesty, boundaries, and strives for restoration and healthy relationships between adult children and their moms. I found it enlightening and helpful. It helped me understand a lot of things about myself and my mom and helped me rebuild some bridges in our relationship.

I have a list just as long, if not longer, of more books that I started reading in 2012 but never finished. And I have another list full of books that I want to read this year. It’s overwhelming to even think about, but I’ve made my goal for this coming year to read 10 minutes each day. Just 10 minutes…just a chapter or two…in hopes that I can finish up some of the “stragglers” from 2012 and get onto some fabulous new reads for 2013.

What did you read last year? Or what’s on your list for the upcoming year? Link up your posts in the comments!