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6 Books I Finished in February

Why I Take Collagen Every Day

6 Books I Finished in February

I know it’s the end of March and I’m just now getting my February book recap posted, but hey, we’re going to celebrate that it’s getting done and overlook that it’s getting done so late!

If you saw my post on my goals for 2025, you’ll know that I’m doing monthly goals instead of yearly goals this year. So I didn’t set an overall reading goal for 2025, but I am planning to set monthly goals.

For February, my goal was to finish 6 books and I’m thrilled to report that I finished 6 books! No fiction this month, again, but I did work on reading a fiction book and am super hopeful I can get back into regularly reading before bed as it’s something I love so much!

Each month, I plan to share reviews on the books I finished the month before + my book stack for the next month since many of you have begged for me to bring back my book posts here on the blog. I’ll also be sharing more in real-time what I’m reading over on Instagram stories and on the podcast and in my personal email newsletter.

The 6 Books I Finished in February

Breaking the Patterns That Break You – I loved getting to interview the author on my podcast (listen here) and found that this book was packed with so much good inspiration and food-for-thought. In addition, Tori’s story is just so hope-filled and encouraging and I love how she weaves parts of it into this book.
Habits of the Household – SO many people have said this book is a must-read and I was cynical… and then I read it! YES! Please do yourself a favor and read it! Once I finished it, I wanted to go back and reread it again! I so appreciated the thoughtful, Christ-centered, non-legalistic approach to habits and how we can create more rhythms in our home to be intentional and point our kids to Jesus. It really challenged and inspired me in very practical ways. Highly, highly recommended! Jesse and I ended up doing a whole podcast on the topic of habits inspired by this book.
Lift Your Eyes: Daily Invitations to Behold Christ in Motherhood — I love Whitney and this devotional is a beautiful collection of encouragement for weary moms. She reminds us to look to Jesus and not be discouraged or overwhelmed by the hard parts of motherhood. I am excited to get to
Being Fully Known — If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you know I’m a huge fan of the book, Sacred Rest, by this author. So I was so honored to get to have her on my podcast to talk about her new book. It was a beautiful episode and I think it will really encourage your heart.
Little House on the Prairie — The younger kids and I read this together before bed. We’re reading through the entire series this year. I will say that I had forgotten how negatively they speak about Native Americans and we ended up having some good discussions about all people being made in the image of God and how some people used to view other races.
My Dear Hemlock — This book is a really unique one and if you love C.S. Lewis and The Screwtape Letters, I think you will find this book one you definitely want to read.

For those who ask when I read: I always have a few books going at once and I read a few pages to a chapter of a Christian inspiration book + a business book every morning. Then, my goal is to read at least 30 pages of a some type of more fun reading in the evenings before bed — memoir, fiction, etc. I have been struggling to get that in because usually by the time I go to bed, I’m too tired to read. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but it’s the reality! However, maybe next month there will be a fiction book on my pile of read books because I’m so

What books have you finished recently? I’d love to hear!

Why I Take Collagen Every Day

Wonder about the benefits of collagen? In this post, I share why I take collagen every day, what collagen I use, and how I take it.

I would love some of your thoughts on collagen. I searched your blog and found lots of posts about different deals to purchase it in powder form or under eye pads, masks, etc. but I was curious how you personally use it.

I’m pretty sure that it was on your weekly habit tracker, so I was just curious how you personally take it and what brand you recommend, and why you value it. I couldn’t find where you talked about why this is important to make your habit tracker list. -Courtney

Why I Take Collagen Every Day

Great question, Courtney! I started taking collagen every day at the strong encouragement of the pelvic floor therapist I went to after Kierstyn was born. She said that she believes every woman should take it, but it’s especially good when recovering from childbirth and as you are getting older.

According to her, it’s not only great for your skin, nails, and hair, but also for your ligaments. (There are a lot of articles on the importance of collagen and how your body’s production of it declines as you age. Here’s one article here.)

I was cynical, but my pelvic floor therapist made such a difference in my recovery from pregnancy and childbirth that I decided to do whatever she told me to do. Plus, I sometimes struggle to get in enough protein every day, so taking collagen is one extra form of protein!

It took a number of months, but I slowly started to see a difference in my hair, skin, and nails. My nails have gotten stronger and grow so fast, my hair and skin also are healthier when I consistently take collagen. And when I stop taking it for a bit, I notice a difference!

What Brand of Collagen I Take

My pelvic floor therapist recommended that I get a tub of Vital Proteins collagen from Costco as she said that’s a good brand and a good price. However, Jesse prefers the Ancient Nutrition or BPN brands.

If you aren’t a fan of collagen powder, Amazon has these Collagen Gummies, 60-Count for just $12.97 shipped when you clip the 40% off e-coupon and check out through Subscribe & Save!

Each gummy is packed with 200mg of hydrolyzed collagen, biotin, zinc, and vitamins C & E, carefully selected to support your overall health.

My sister, Gretchen, takes these and she says, “These Collagen Gummies are part of my every day vitamins I take. I’ve tried to use collagen powder for years and just cannot handle the taste (yes, I can taste it whether it’s in coffee, tea, smoothies, etc).

“I found these gummies last year and they are the best thing ever. I love the taste and am so impressed with their ingredients. Plus, I’m growing my hair out and these gummies have definitely made a difference. Even my hair stylist has noticed!”

If you want to try out collagen, you can also get a FREE Collagen PM Variety Pack! Just pay $5.95 shipping.

Each pack retails for $16.99 and includes three flavors of Collagen PM powder. Here are some details about this Collagen PM:

Calms your mind and body
Promotes restful sleep
Supports uninterrupted sleep
Maintains healthy hair, skin, and nails
Strengthens bones and joints
Free of sugar and artificial sweeteners

This is a great way to try it out without purchasing a huge container to be sure that it will work for you.

Go here to get your FREE Collagen PM Variety Pack.

(Note: There will be 5-6 offers that pop-up at checkout. Just scroll down on the pages and click “No Thanks” at the bottom of the pages. I also recommend not giving them your phone number at checkout — unless you want to schedule a phone call with one of their coaches. It’s free, but there’s a good chance they will try to sell you something.)

How I Take My Collagen

I have found that the easiest way to take collagen is to put a scoop in my tea every day. I just stick the tea bag and the scoop of collagen in the bottom of the mug/tumbler and pour the hot water over it and stir. It completely dissolves and is totally tasteless — so long as you mix it in enough liquid.

(I also add some honey or Truvia and lots of half and half, so maybe that helps mask the taste? One time, I added collagen to just a little bit of decaf coffee I had left in a cup and it made the coffee taste off since I mixed a full scoop into just a 1/3 cup or so of liquid. So I’d recommend adding it to a full mug!)