6 Books I Read in February

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I used a lot of my reading time in February to keep up with my reading through the Bible in 100 days!  I’m still on track, but it feels like the pace picked up in the last couple of weeks.

I did make it through my four selected books for the month, along with a couple of others.

• If God Is Good by Randy Alcorn.  Just like Heaven (Alcorn’s other book I’ve read), this book gave me so much to think about.  Alcorn discusses the evil and suffering in our world and how that affects our view of God as well as our relationship with Him.  I always appreciate how his books are laid out with detailed, Bible-based points.  I would like to re-read this book at a much slower pace so that I can take in even more of these principles.  It’s definitely encouraging, especially if you’ve faced difficult trials in your life.

• Making Happy:  The Art and Science of a Happy Marriage by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott.  The Parrotts share six actions couples can take to make their marriage better.  Five of the six were areas I would like to work on –  try new things together (take a class, visit a new location); count your blessings in your relationship; give together (monetarily and by volunteering); celebrate each other; and always keep dreaming together, making plans for the future.  It wasn’t quite as easy a read as I may have thought, but was worth going through.

• Smart Money, Smart Kids:  Raising the Next Generation to Win with Money by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze.  I highly recommend this book for parents who want to raise their kids with sound financial principles.  Having been a fan of Dave Ramsey for years, the information wasn’t new, but the laying out of how to teach Biblical money principles to kids was very helpful.  It was an easy read – nothing technical – and the chapter on instilling contentment in our children was spot on.

• Throw Out Fifty Things:  Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life by Gail Blanke.  The first half of this book dealt with clearing out physical clutter, while the second half addressed mental clutter.  This wasn’t as detailed or practical as I’d hoped when it addressed clearing clutter out of your home.  However, there were a few good ideas in the second half of the book, including advice on letting go of expecting the worst and setting a vision for your life, then determining how to get there.

The other books I read this month were these.

• The Antelope in the Living Room by Melanie Shankle.  This was a re-read from last year.  Melanie boils marital love down to its essence and includes some laughs from her own experiences along the way.

• Firewall by DiAnn Mills.  This was an interesting fiction read centering on the FBI and a potential terrorist plot, but had a little too much violence in it for my taste.  

Here are the books I plan to read in March.

Spiritual:  To Live is Christ:  Joining Paul’s Journey of Faith by Beth Moore
Marriage:  The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages:  The Little Things That Make a Big Difference by Shaunti Feldhahn.  (You may recognize this title; it’s a re-read.)
Parenting:  The Parenting Breakthrough:  A Real-Life Plan to Teach Your Kids to Work, Save Money, and Be Truly Independent by Merrilee Browne Boyack
Personal Growth: The Power of a Half Hour:  Take Back Your Life Thirty Minutes at a Time by Tommy Barnett

What have you been reading lately?