Favorite Summer Reads

Are you are a lover of the written word? I am and always have been. My parents instilled in me a love for reading and my second-grade teacher, Ms. Wright, gave us a reading challenge to see how many books we could read in a year. And to a second-grader, favorites consisted of The Bernstein Bears and such. As time has progressed and I am older now, some of my favorite reads are “Pride and Prejudice”, of course, the Bible and, “Everyone Always”. As well as many, many others. In high school, I even loved “Macbeth” and the occasional Edgar Allen Poe poem. I would prefer a real book to hold but in our modern-day of technology, I do have the occasional E-Book

Fiction:
The Psalm 23 Mysteries—One of my all-time favorite series is called The Psalm 23 Mysteries, by Debbie Viguie. There are a total of 16 books so far with a final tally of 23 once the series is complete. The title of Each book is taken from a line of the 23rd Psalm, with the first being titled “The Lord is My Shepherd” and the most recent one is “Anointest My Head With Oil”. The storyline follows a Jewish Rabbi named Jeremiah and a church secretary named Cindy and their friends as they go along solving an array of mysteries. And believe me, they get wrapped up into all kinds of mishaps but always find a way out. The one thing I love about the series is Debbie Viguie is not afraid to show the human side of people with all their ups and downs but she also isn’t hesitant to bring out the redemptive grace of Jesus. Below I’ve shared a link for the first and last book in the series, but don’t forget that there are a total of 16 books in The Psalm 23 Mysteries.

Chesapeake Valor Series—As you might can tell, I love mysteries. The classic whodunnit, sit on the edge of your seat mysteries are the best. Another amazing series is the Chesapeake Valor series by Dani Pettrey. She has a couple of others out that are good reads but this is a top of mine. The series encompasses five friends who graduated from college together to go out and save the world. One is a park ranger, one is a crime scene photography, one a lawyer, one joined the FBI and last but not least one is missing. All four books in the series link together so I would strongly encourage reading them in order. Dani Pettrey too has a gift for the written word and brings out that with all of the darkness in the world, Jesus is our saving Light. Below is a link for the first book in the series.

The Restoration Series—Ahhh!! What can I say? I have always loved Terri Blackstock. She has such a way of telling a story and always brings out the redemption story. In this series there are four books, starting with “Last Light”. The story follows the Branning family during an unheard of crisis. The entire high-tech world as they know it is gone. In the blink of an eye, every form of electricity failed and shut down and they were having to learn how to deal with a world reminiscence to times long gone. No cell phone, no car, no lights, etc. Just imagine! They have to learn to depend on each other in this very trying time. It is a must-read.

Non-Fiction:
I love reading a good teaching book. We always need a little guidance in one area or another of our lives. I know I do. Whether it’s dealing with learning to loving more, finances or just how to be a better you. I believe, whether young and old, we are always learning something new everyday.

Love Like You’ve Never Been Hurt—This book is truly one of the most life changing books ever. We have all been hurt by someone close to us at one point in our life. Pastor Jentzen Franklin teaches from biblical and modern-day stories how we are to start loving like we’ve never been hurt and forgiving others. Hurt and bitterness is like a root and the longer you leave it alone the deeper it grows almost to the point where it’s hard to get rid of. Let’s love more!! If you don’t read anything else this year, I would strongly encourage you to read this one.

Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People—A perfect book to read after the prior book listed. Bob Goff is an amazing author and human being. His passion is to teach others how to love more and that is something that we definitely need more of in our civilization. Loving those that are difficult is not easy but it can be life-changing for all. You will learn how a no-limits embrace of everyone can transform our world.

Capital Gaines: The Smart Things I’ve Learned Doing Stupid Stuff—Calling all fans of Chip and Joanna Gaines. Every entrepreneur and dreamer should read this book. Chip Gaines shares the beginnings of what is now Magnolia and all of their ups and downs along the way. It just goes to show that something worth having is worth fighting and working for.

Everyday Millionaires: How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth and How You Can Too—I am in the process of reading this one and so far it is encouraging. Chris Hogan destroys the myths about millionaires and discusses how a large majority of millionaires in the US reached their financial standings. They used ordinary, basic tools that most of us already have and can learn. It’s not easy but absolutely doable, it just takes hard work.

These are just a few books that I have enjoyed reading. Believe me, if you could see my library you would understand my love to read.

We are taught as kids that books will take you places you could never imagine going to. Reading can also expand the imagination and it teaches us new things. I hope that I have inspired you to pick up that favorite book of yours or if you don’t have one, I would highly recommend one of the books listed above. One of the things I look forward to is hearing from our followers, so please leave a comment of your most-liked book.

Happy reading!
               Amanda