Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

The Books of 2019 (so far)

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This year has been so full and noisy. The world around me is noisy with lots of people wanting to use social media and their platforms to convince people of various things. My kids are noisy and in seasons that have required much of me. Plus there’s been so much to process in my own head.

So I’ve been reading a lot of fiction. Twenty-one fiction books so far this year and just eight non-fiction. I do read essays from two devotionals regularly that aren’t officially included in the list. But they’re “New Morning Mercies” by Paul David Tripp and “Keep a Quiet Heart” by Elisabeth Elliot. They both quiet my soul and help me refocus on what truly matters.

Fiction

  1. “The Forgotten Hours” by Katrin Schumann
  2. “The Secret Mother” by Shalini Boland
  3. “Since You’ve Been Gone” by Christa Allen
  4. “The Secret Orphan” by Glynis Peters
  5. “Good As Gone” by Amy Gentry
  6. “When We Were Worthy” by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
  7. “He Said / She Said” by Erin Kelly
  8. “Say You’re Sorry” (Morgan Dane #1) by Melinda Leigh
  9. “Her Last Goodbye” (Morgan Dane #2) by Melinda Leigh
  10. “Bones Don’t Lie” (Morgan Dane #3) by Melinda Leigh
  11. “Those Who Save Us” by Jenna Blum
  12. “After Anna” by Lisa Scottoline
  13. “What I’ve Done” (Morgan Dane #4) by Melinda Leigh
  14. “Secrets Never Die” (Morgan Dane #5) by Melinda Leigh
  15. “The Orphan Daughter” by Cari Noga
  16. “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens
  17. “Only Ever Her” by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
  18. “It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover
  19. “The Stormchasers” by Jenna Blum
  20. “We Were the Lucky Ones”  by Georgia Hunter
  21. “High Water” by Lynn Hightower

Memoirs

  1. “Rock Needs River: A Memoir About a Very Open Adoption” by Vanessa McGrady
  2. “It’s A Love Story: From Happily to Ever After” by Lincee Ray {Review}
  3. “The Middle Matters: Why That (Extra)Ordinary Life Looks Really Good on You” by Lisa-Jo Baker {Review}

Non-fiction

  1. “The Sacred Enneagram: Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth” by Christopher Heuertz
  2. “Letters to the Church” by Francis Chan {Book / Study / Videos}
  3. “If God Is For Us: The Everlasting Truth of Our Great Salvation” by Trillia Newbell {Review}
  4. “Joyful Surrender” by Elisabeth Elliot {Review}
  5. “The Very Best, Hands-On, Kinda Dangerous Family Devotions: 52 Activities Yours Kids Will Never Forget” by Tim Shoemaker {Review}

*****

I keep lists of recommended reads on Amazon and I offered some tips on how to read more here. Plus I often talk books on Facebook and Instagram, so be sure to follow along there. Of course, I’d love to hear what you’re reading because I could always use additions for my to-read list.

On learning and following Jesus together

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As a 40-year-old woman, I really love reading devotions. I like hearing stories that help bring scriptures to life. I like themes that apply to my life.

But gathering my family for devotion time often seems stressful to me, especially after we’ve had full days and are spending time together after dinner.

We talk about Jesus often. We serve together. We are involved in church together. Yet my momma ears totally perked up when I heard about a new family devotional: “The Very Best, Hands-On Kinda Dangerous Family Devotions: 52 Activities Your Kids Will Never Forget” by Tim Shoemaker.

After flipping through the book without my kids present, I get excited about the word “activities.” Doing something with my kids comes more naturally than sitting around the table trying to teach and lecture them.

I immediately noticed a few things about the table of contents: The activities are titled, but the themes are also noted immediately after. Some activities that may require extra supervision and precaution – like one involving a potato gun, chemistry experiment, or make-shift balance beam – are noted with one symbol while themes more appropriate for children 12 years and older are marked with another.

Like Shoemaker says in the introduction, parents are supposed to protect their children, provide for them, and prepare them for their futures. All of that is best built on a spiritual foundation and resources like this creative family devotional book are wonderful guides.

I appreciate how Shoemaker offers fourteen tips to making devotions work for your family. It’s good to be reminded these are object lessons, not drawn out lectures that bore the kids. He encourages parents to focus on doing weekly devotions and creating a habit that works best for their schedules.

Stay tuned because I’ll be back with more glimpses as my family moves into our backyard and living room to learn more about what following Jesus is about together.

About the book

The remedy to ho-hum, not-again, “Do we have to?” family devotions. Regular family devotions are important. Unfortunately, they’re often . . . boring. But what if devotions looked less like sitting still and listening to someone read and more like, say, electrocuting a pickle? Or converting a leaf blower into a toilet paper launcher? Or lighting toothpaste on fire?

“The Very Best, Hands-On, Kinda Dangerous Family Devotions” is a 304-page paperback book published by Revell (May 21, 2019).

About the author

Tim Shoemaker is the author of fourteen books. He has worked as a volunteer with youth at his local church for more than twenty-five years and speaks to thousands of students at public schools. He’s a popular workshop speaker at Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conferences, Moody Pastor’s Conference, Focus on the Family, and GREAT Homeschool Conventions. He lives in Illinois. Learn more about him and his books at his website.

*****

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review as part of the Revell Reads program. These opinions are my own.

Why the middle matters

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I’m not sure when being middle-aged happens, but I think I’m there – and it’s nothing like I expected. I turned 40 last month, am getting ready to celebrate 17 years of marriage to my college sweetheart husband, mother three kids from 3 to 12 years old, and have been out of high school for more than two decades.

“The Middle Matters: Why That (Extra)Ordinary Life Looks Really Good on You” by Lisa-Jo Baker was good for me in this season. I started reading it one morning in early May – about a week after I turned 40, a couple of days after my dad died unexpectedly, the week before my kids’ last week of school that involved a field trip two hours away, a program, and an out-of-town vacation.

Obviously, I was in the middle of a lot of things at once in what’s my favorite month right in the middle of the year.

Anyway, I started “The Middle Matters” while eating banana bread I made the previous night because my husband and kids didn’t want those mushy bananas to go to waste. My son and youngest daughter left crumbs and I just kept reading. I don’t drink coffee, but pass the Diet Dr Pepper. I needed that quiet morning at the kitchen table to take some deep breaths and remember why the middle matters.

“The middle is the place where our lives really live. This is the place where we have grown into the shape of our souls even as we might have outgrown the shape of our jeans. The middle is the marrow. The glorious ordinary of your life that utterly exhausts you but that you might have finally started to understand in ways you didn’t at the beginning. … We are living the memories that will be passed down to the ones who are still living their beginning.” – Lisa-Jo Baker in “The Middle Matters“

Weary moms and women who are hoping for children and friends who also turned 40 this year and all you who might feel like you’re drowning in ordinary life, this book is for you. As I read, I felt cheered for and seen and understood.

About the book

Do you ever wonder how you woke up one day with all the responsibilities of a grown-up who secretly enjoys going to Costco, can no longer recognize the tween celebrities on the magazines at checkout, but is still surprised when a Starbucks Barista calls you “ma’am” – because your inside self is frozen in time from about twenty years ago? So does Lisa-Jo Baker. Welcome to the middle!

In these intimate reflections on midlife, Lisa-Jo Baker invites women to get a good look at their middles and gives permission to embrace them – beyond what the media, the mirror, the magazines, or our teenagers say. Through gutsy, beautiful storytelling, she admits out loud what most women are thinking about marriage, parenting, failure, and how badly we all want to buy those matching Magnolia Market mugs. Lisa-Jo knows that the middle might be the best part of the love story of life, muffin top included.

This book is published by WaterBrook and officially releases July 23, 2019. But you can preorder now and get extra goodies: $10 Gift Card to DaySpring.com (+ free U.S. shipping), an audiobook excerpt (read by Lisa-Jo), behind-the-scenes photo album, eight secret podcast sessions that are Confessions of a Carb-Loving Author (from Lisa-Jo). Learn more at its website and on Amazon.

About the author

Lisa-Jo Baker wants to help you stop trying to escape your ordinary life, but to lean into it instead. She is the best-selling author of “Never Unfriended” and “Surprised by Motherhood.” She is the co-host of the popular Out of the Ordinary podcast and lives just outside Washington, D.C. with her husband of more than 20 years and their three very loud kids.

*****

I did get a free copy of this book in exchange for helping promote it as part of the launch team, but I truly recommend the book and will likely spend money on gifting copies to friends. As always, if you need other book recommendations, check out my list. I previous reviewed Lisa-Jo Baker’s “Surprised by Motherhood” and wrote about “Never Unfriended” a few times, which you can see here.