A few of you have asked me what books I ended up reading on the long 15-hour plane flight to South Africa and back. So I thought I'd give you the rundown of the four books I read (and two I didn't read):
First off, I read two marriage books: this one and this one. I also read half of this one. {And yes, there's a reason I'm not writing out the names here - because I don't need to attract people here who are searching for not-so-great stuff on the web! :(}
This year, one of my Christmas gifts to my husband was my commitment to read at least one marriage book per month. Because I've found that it's helpful to have regular refreshers and tune-ups regarding a healthy marriage.
I also read The Devil in Pew Number Seven. This book came highly recommended to me and while it was pretty good, I felt like it was one of the those instances where the story would have only filled a few chapters, so they added unnecessary filler information just to make it a complete book. However, I thought the story of forgiveness was really moving.
And finally, I read When God Doesn't Fix It. I was unfamiliar with Laura Story's background and struggles and really found this book engaging and encouraging. If you or someone you know is going through an ongoing medical situation that you never could have imagined and that there isn't a real cure for, I think you'll be very blessed by reading this book.
I had planned to read Still Alice and Big Little Lies. I discovered that the plane had the movie Still Alice available so I ended up watching it instead. I thought it was rather depressing and discouraging and didn't make me want to read the book. However, it was a good look at what Alzheimer's is like and what families deal with. The ending felt off and I kept thinking maybe it wasn't the actual ending… but the credits kept rolling so I finally realized that it was, indeed, the ending - even if it didn't feel like it should have ended where it did.
I ran out of time to read Big Little Lies, but am hoping to get a chance to read it in the not-too-distant future.
I'm currently reading a pre-release copy of Breaking Busy by Alli Worthington and really being convicted by it. Watch the end of the video here for two of my favorite quotes from chapter one.
We also just finished reading The Sign of the Beaver aloud as a family this morning. We really enjoyed the story and it was very engaging and interesting for all the kids!
In a sort of related note, in case you missed this post on Instagram, I'd love your help to pick next week's Book Club Book.
What have YOU been reading recently? I'd love to hear!
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I'd love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it 
