I’ve always loved reading…my mom is a teacher and some of my earliest memories are of us snuggled on the couch reading. She definitely passed on her love of reading to me and I could spend hours a day reading a book and be perfectly content! There were a few years in late high school and during college while going to school & running a business left little time to read, but when I did read, I would always choose a business book so that I could justify it to myself. That opened a whole new world of possibilities…I discovered that those were my favorite books to read! Now reading it part of my daily routine and I encourage all of my friends to do the same! 

I’m the type of person that will drive family & friends crazy while I’m reading a book because it’s all I can talk about. Typically I am a “talk it out” to understand person and these 6 books have been changing my life. 

1. Dave Ramsey: I signed up to take the FPU small group at a family friends house and we are 2 weeks into it. It’s all beginning to click. I don’t have any debt so I never paid much attention to anything I saw about Dave Ramsey because I always associated it with paying off debt but after talking to some other people who had gone through the class I realized it was much more than that. For the girl who has never had a budget (they stress me out, freak me out, don’t even know where to start with one) it was a big step to sit down and make one! There will be a full blog post coming about this class soon but for now, get reading this book & find a local FPU class you can get involved with! It’s so helpful to have leaders to answer your questions & hold you accountable as well as a group of others to bounce ideas off from! 

2. Scary Close: This popped up in my Amazon recommended list 2 days before my trip to New Orleans..I was ordering a dress & looking for a new book to take for the plane ride. This book is life changing. Donald Miller talks about his journey to finding true intimacy in friendships/relationships and for someone who is really good at pretending to have it all together, this book has been shattering those perceptions and making me realize that I am the reason why relationships with others in my life are only so deep. I find it easy to make an initial connection with someone but then struggle with going beyond that at times and now I’m realizing that is because that initial connection was based off the desire to impress them, not truly showing me for me.  I could go on and on about this book, but seriously, just go buy this ASAP and get reading it. 

3. Keep It Shut : What to Say, How to Say it, And When to Say Nothing at All. This book is very lighthearted and an easy read while tackling some of the hard subjects like gossiping and how much power our words hold. I can’t tell you how many times I find myself rambling and realizing I should just stop talking before I get myself further into a mess but still find myself rambling in attempts to make it better. The author, Karen Ehman, gives practical tips you can start using today. 

4. She’s Still There : I started reading this with a friend last fall (hi Brit!) and it was one of those books that every chapter just seemed to speak right to what my heart needed to hear on that day I read it. Each page is filled with little nuggets of truth like this one, “Build on the gifts God gave you, Don’t minimize them” and makes you think through finding your identity in the thing that truly matters, your relationship with God. 

 

5. How to Win Friends & Influence People : This book has been on many must read book lists that I have seen for business owners and oh how I wish I had read this book 8 years ago! Dale Carnegie wrote it over 80 years ago and the principles it talks about are a testament to exactly that. If you are in business, this book is a must read! I gave it to my Dad & sister to read after I read it because I knew how much it would help them! (& secretly hoping then they would want to talk it out with me…but that hasn’t happened yet!) 

6. 31 Prayers for My Future Husband : I asked for this book for Christmas and it goes along with the blog post I wrote a few months ago about praying for your husband. It’s a small book with prayers written out to pray each day about specific areas of your future husband’s life. 

What books have you been reading lately that you would recommend? I’m always on the lookout for new ones to add to my list!