Stone Soup for Five: February books and what's up next...

February books and what's up next...



Books I read in February



by Elisabeth Elliot 

This is a newly released book that was actually a series of talks by Elisabeth Elliot. Because of the format, it reads just a little differently than a regular book.  That point aside, on the topic of suffering, Elisabeth was a woman who knew intimately what she was writing about.  Her first husband was a missionary famously killed by the unreached tribe he was trying to share with and her second husband died of cancer.  She talks about those struggles, but it is not just a memoir.  She has wonderful nuggets of truth and scripture woven in throughout the chapters.  

It is a gorgeous little hardback book that would make a wonderful and helpful gift to someone who is walking through a trial, grieving a death, or tired of the struggle.  You can see more of my review on Goodreads.


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David McIntyre

We just finished up this book last week for the Book Club for February!  If you are still reading, please, take your time and add your comments to the blog posts for those chapters.  There is no timeline or rush, so enjoy the amazing richness of the book and share what you learned.  You can find chapters 1 and 2 here, 3 and 4 here, 5 and 6 here, and 7 and 8 here.  If you click the link above, you can order a free copy!  Well worth the read (and re-read)!


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Lena Yoder

Every once in a while I just need a cozy book that requires nothing of me but enjoyment and relaxation. This was the perfect book for that. I love reading anything Amish--cookbooks, diary entries, books--and this book was refreshing and insightful. I tend to idolize the Amish, thinking their lives would be so much better than mine without the hurry and rush and technology of the modern world, but as I know, everyone has hard parts of life and living the Plain life is no vacation. There are freezing temps, mud and more mud (that turns to clouds of dust in the summer), animals and manure (that the smell of can cling to freshly washed laundry as it dries on the line), and never ending dishes to handwash.

Lena didn't paint it all sunshine and fresh baked pies, but she was encouraging to read and she often reminded me that I will never find peace in my circumstances, regardless of where or how I live, but only in Christ. In this book I walked through years of her children growing up, her mother's death, scary livestock situations, and lots and lots of washing dishes and summer canning seasons. 

good quotes:
"I try to remember that patience includes the quality or habit of enduring without complaint... I fail miserably."

"If our hearts are right with the calling we as mothers have from the Lord, we can have great joy in these mundane, everyday tasks we have to do."

"Throughout this last year, I kept telling myself it's not always the situations we are in that control our lives, but what we chose to make of the situations. My attitude is 99% of everything!"





Books in my Amazon cart


This one looks good as I'm continuing to learn self-control in all areas of life!


Next up for my Amish reading... but probably not till this summer.


because I'm trying to continue to grow in hospitality and conversation.




Because reading his previous book Deep Work inspired me to get off social media and do some deep work of my own.


Empty shelf challenge


So far I'm on track with my Goodreads challenge of reading 36 books this year!  I'd love any recommendations you have for books you've read so far this year, or some of your favorites that warrant a re-read!  Leave me a note in the comments! 


11 comments:

  1. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney.
    This is a book to read and re-read and re-read again. It had a massive influence on my approach to Spiritual Discipline. It is definitely a "reference" book to keep on the bookshelf.

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    1. That is an awesome book! I have been slowly reading through it for almost a year and can't wait to go back and start again when I'm finished as I know that I missed a ton of good stuff on the first read through.

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    2. I read that one years ago! I need to get it out again. Definitely a re-read!

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  2. I am still reading The Hidden Life of Prayer, I started Gospel by J.D. Greear (It is AWESOME so far), and I am also slowing making my way through The Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson. I am also using The Book of Mysteries by Jonathan Cahn as a daily devotional, and I added Journey to the Cross by Will Walker as a Lent Devotional.
    On my shelf to read are : Suffering by Paul David Tripp, The Curate of Glaston trilogy by George MacDonald, The Kneeling Christian, The Life Story of John Hyde (Praying Hyde Apostle of Prayer) by E.G. Carre, Teaching to Change Lives by Dr. Howard Hendricks and for fun The Mysterious Benedict Society trilogy because my girls LOVED these three so much, I heard bits and pieces, now I want to read them. I also have a stack to pre-read for my girls :
    The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart, Sweep: the Story of a Girl and her Monster by Jonathan Auxier, The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen, and The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. I have never read an Elizabeth Goudge, but so many people talk about her, I want to read one of her books. I heard City of Bells and/or Pilgrim's Inn are her two best to start with though, so I hope to read those too eventually. :)

    I love love love to read, thank you for posting ideas :)

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  3. I am looking for some good reads for Easter...any ideas?

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    1. Hmmm...what about this list? https://www.challies.com/resources/preparing-for-easter/

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  4. One of the best books I have read this year is A SHEPHARDS LOOK AT THE 23RD PSALM. BY PHILLIP KELLER. I must confess I have read it about 4 or 5 times now and I find new nuggets hidden in it every time. I have a much greater appreciation that Jesus is called our Shephard.

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  5. Deep Work was a great book. I didn't realise he had another book out. You have some good books on your list. My book group read Real by Catherine Parks and had a good discussion on that. It changed how we share prayer requests. Real Change was an excellent read. After sitting on my shelf for too long I read Evidence Not Seen and asked why it took so long to read. A book that I read last year and really impacted me was The Art of Rest. Two of fun books were A Gentleman in Moscow and Tell Tale which is short stories. I have a long list of books to read -- Identify Theft, Broken Words Best, Escaping Escapism, You Can Pray.

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    1. I love Evidence Not Seen! Looking up the other ones! Thank you!

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