Welcome to my weekly Book-ish post where I share what I’ve been reading and watching recently. If you missed it, you can see my Reading Goals for 2018 and 44 Books I Plan to Read This Year.
What I Read Last Week
Last week, I read Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman. Our Community Group is going through this book together and I was supposed to read a few more chapters of it for our group discussion… but then I started reading and just kept reading and reading.
It really challenged me in a lot of powerful ways. I didn’t agree with all of it and I thought some of the humor was just overboard cheesy, but many of his questions really challenged me in my walk with Christ.
Here’s one quote I loved: “When we try to follow Jesus without being filled daily with the Spirit, we find ourselves frustrated by our failures and exhausted by our efforts.”
And another: “The keyword for grace is ‘done’. Our punishment was taken by Christ. He has made a way where there was no way so we live with a freedom and appreciation for what has been done. Fans are all about the ‘do’, but followers celebrate the ‘done’.”
Jesse and I are headed on a fun trip to NYC Tuesday and Wednesday (follow me on Instagram if you want to see some peeks into what we’ll be up to while we’re there!), so here’s the stack of books I’m bringing with me. Yes, I’m pretty much always over-prepared and overly-ambitious when it comes to books, but hey, at least I never have to stress about killing time if there’s a flight delay! 😉
What I Watched Last Week
Jesse and I went to see Jumanji last week. We’d heard mixed reviews from friends and wanted to see it before taking our kids. Sadly, we were disappointed with the movie. It had a lot of inappropriate lines in it and it wasn’t really even that funny. So yeah, we nixed the idea of taking the kids.
(By the way, we got MoviePasses for Christmas and we have fallen in love with them. You just can’t beat $10 per month to be able to see one movie of your choice every single day. Read my in-depth review of MoviePass here.)
This week, we continued watching Arrow. We’re really enjoying the show so far. I’ve heard that it gets darker and not as enjoyable as it goes along, but currently, we’re really enjoying it! (Note: This is definitely more of a PG-13 type of show.)
We also loved watching the next episode of This is Us — I can’t stop talking about what an amazing show that is!
Time to Read
People are always asking me how I find time to read. Honestly, it’s because I love to read, because I’ve chosen to prioritize it, because I don’t have a lot of other hobbies, and because I can’t not read. Also, when you love something, you usually can find ways to get creative to find time to fit it in — even if it’s in the little nooks and crannies of life.
I wrote a post on 3 ways to find more time to read — even when life is busy. And here are 7 more ways to find time to read.
Daddy long legs is one of my favorite books. Enjoy it!
If you like arrow, I recommend legends of tomorrow. It just gets better and better with each season.
My husband and I have just started watching This is Us together. We have been watching a couple of episodes a night and are already up to Season 2.
I love the realness of this show. They don’t sugarcoat life and they always come together as a family to support one another. TV doesn’t often depict the dad of a show as a respected male and role model, but they do a great job with Jack. My husband reminds me so much of Jack, minus the drinking struggle. I have to say, as a mom who is almost finished raising my three children, I am reminded by this show and my own life, to not take for granted that your kids are grounded and will always make the best decisions, just because you have raised them that way. It may work out that way for some families, but not for all. I don’t say this to scare parents of young children, but to encourage them to be persistent in teaching. Don’t let your guard down. Cover your children in prayer and remember that ultimately they belong to God.
My husband and I watch the Flash. We feel comfortable watching this in front of our young kids more than Arrow.
I’m hoping I can read more this year. I’ll start with one book a month. Reading a Mom after Gods own heart.
I’ve got to check out The Flash! Yes, Arrow is definitely not for kids!
I loved the first few seasons of Arrow! I lost interest after a while though- it got really weird, and dark, but mainly the plot got weird and I didn’t like it as much. The Flash I like a lot more! Hopefully that doesn’t go off the rails later…
Love the inspiration to read more! I always get overly ambitious, but I get the books from the library so I tend to have a giant stack I haven’t read and then end up returning without reading haha! Going to have to find a better system for that… 🙂
I will definitely have to check out The Flash! Thanks for the recommendation!
I just finished The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, so good, so painful.
I’ve heard that that one is really good!
I love Scazzero’s Emotionally Healthy books. . .I am going through Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day By Day right now. Really life-changing stuff; I will likely go through it again soon.
My friend is letting me borrow them! I’m excited to read them!
I read The War That Saved My Life (historical jr high fiction), My Name is Lucy Barton, and Ken Ham’s Already Gone. TWTSML was wonderful! It’s the second of two. Lucy Barton was ok, and Already Gone was excellent and provided for good family discussions.
We used to watch Arrow, but had to stop. It just got too dark and sexualized. Love This is Us!
Have a great trip!
Oh! I’ve seen TWTSML and wanted to read it!
My husband and I LOVE Arrow! The Flash is really good too – sort of similar but much lighter. The characters cross over sometimes, which is fun.
I definitely need to check out The Flash!
I’m reading “Sindey Chambers and the Shadow of Death,” which is the first book in the Grantchester Mysteries. There is a lovely show on PBS and Amazon Prime called Grantchester and it’s based on the books.
I’m watching Victoria on PBS, and Mr. MLM got me started on La Mante on Netflix. It’s a French Netflix Original Series about a female serial killer. The story has me hooked despite the occasional graphic scene. I will stop watching it if it gets too out of hand. Definitely rated R.
Thanks so much for the suggestions!
We watch The Flash instead of Arrow. It has been helping us understand how millennials think! As for books, I would like to read “Never Caught” a non-fiction account of George Washington’s slave who ran away and was never caught, despite having $10 reward on her in a Philly paper. We heard the author’s book talk this wknd and it was so impressive. We tried to buy a copy to get autographed but they sold out. So, Overdrive it is.
Thanks so much for the recommendations!
I love, love, love everything by Christy Barritt! She writes humorous, Christian mysteries. They’re great for entertainment- not super deep, yet I can’t ever predict who the villain is ?
Thanks so much for the recommendation!
I started watching Arrow because you mentioned it last week. I agree with how you described it. Enjoyable but dark at times. I am reading Sarah’s Key by Tatiana DeRosnay. I am a sucker for Historical Fiction like you loved self-help books. I am trying to branch out and read Vincent and Theo (the Van Gogh Brothers) by Deborah Heiligman. I am an art teacher so the information was interesting but non-fiction is sooooo slow. It is a young adult book so a quick easy read.
I just watched Alias Grace from Netflix. This was a mind-bending show. Leaves you rooting for the main character for find some good luck. It reminds me of the book, Jane Eyre. This girl has a horrible, non-forgiving life but it all ends well for her. There is a dark twist near the end so don’t watch it alone. Book Nerd Alert: (Apparently, the author of this series Margaret Atwood also wrote the The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu. The author likes to add a dark twists to her books) 😉
Did you know Sarah’s Key is also a movie? I read the book first then watched the film. The movie stays pretty true to the book (though there are some minor differences, especially towards the end).
I did not know that thank you
Oh! Sarah’s Key is a good read!
I just finished reading “Faith That Lasts.” This was a huge deal for me! It is the first book that I have read in a long time (besides the Bible).
I really enjoyed it. It was about why so many millennials have left the church and how to reach that age group. Also great book for parents to know what they can and should do to raise their children to love and serve God in the local church as they become adults.
I highly recommend it to all parents – no matter the age of their children!
Way to go for finishing a book!!!
NYC sounds fun! I always bring a lot of books on trips, too!
And on that note…I read multiple books at the same time. I’m currently reading (and really enjoying) A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers. It’s a series of five novellas, each about a woman in the lineage of Jesus: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. I’m also listening to the audio version of Tamera Alexander’s To Win Her Favor, the second book in her Belle Meade series. For nonfiction, I’m reading A Million Little Ways by Emily Freeman.
My husband and I had a date night to see The Greatest Showman, and we both loved it. I listened to the soundtrack at work today!
We’ve been watching Heartland, but we’re almost to the end, so I think we’re going to check out This Is Us next. You’ve sold me on it!
The Greatest Showman is the BEST!
I just finished a fictional book called “Allie and Bea” that was excellent. I’m now about halfway through “Upstairs at the White House”. I think that landed on my reading list as a suggestion from you! 🙂
I *think* one of my readers recommended it here! I haven’t read it yet!
I have just finished Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan For Serious Specific And Strategic Prayer by Priscilla Shirer what a brilliant book.
Wanted to read her book after watching her in the film War Room.
I am also watching This Is Us and I am really enjoying it.
That sounds like a great book!
Fervent is an amazing book! I never understood the power of spiritual warfare before reading it. Loved War Room – a must-see!
Just finished The Secret Zoo with my kids and started the second one in the series.
I also finished Mom Enough and will probably reread at least some of the chapters.
Thanks so much for sharing!