Whispers of Rest by Bonnie GrayA Book Review

Whispers of Rest was exactly what I needed this year! Gentle reminders of God's love for me, affirmed by daily one-word prayers; meaningful quotations and insightful interpretations of passages of scripture; and practical ways to have more rest, peace, and happiness in my life — all these are part of Bonnie Gray's "life-giving, forty-day devotional detox for [my] soul."

For a long time I had a love-hate relationship with the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10. The following insight from Bonnie Gray affirms the okay-ness of my Martha-ness, while providing the loving reason Jesus corrected her:

Jesus didn't love Martha for what she could do for Him. He wanted her to receive everything He longed to give her — Himself.

Pursuing rest is probably an oxymoronic phrase, but that has been one of my tasks in becoming #Wholein2017. I'm holding on to Jesus's promise to give me rest (see Matthew 11:28-30)!

Notice Jesus doesn't say, "Come to me strong, cheerful, without worries." We're invited to come to Him weary — whether confused, numb, anxious, angry, or stressed. Jesus tells us to simply come. Imperfectly His. As we are.

For a good part of 2015 and 2016, I felt as though I were in a desert place. I love the image, instead, of being well-watered (see Jeremiah 17:8 and D&C 97:9).

Joy may feel selfish, but it isn't. ... The truth is, a well-loved woman who chooses joy will naturally bless others, like a river being filled by refreshing spring rain.

One of the personal commandments of my on-going happiness project is Be still. I love the definition Bonnie gives of that phrase:

The Hebrew word translated "Be still" [in Psalm 46:10] literally means "Let go of your grip."

As I've started to think about my goals for 2018, a re-read of Whispers of Rest seems to be a likely project!

Disclosure: As a member of the book launch team, I received a complimentary copy of Whispers of Rest. All opinions are mine.

168 Hours by Laura VanderkamA Book Review

This time management book, filled with statistics, is actually quite a compelling read. Subtitled You Have More Time Than You Think, its basic premise is that how one fills one's time is a choice and that there is time to do the things one really wants to do.

I think I've always believed that — and I already do several of the things that Vanderkam suggests, such as listening to audio books during my commute, using the DVR to record the few television shows I watch so I can do so on my own schedule, keeping a Bible with me all the time (via an app on my iPhone) so I can read a few verses whenever I have a few minutes, and focusing on gratitude, and I've been a planner all of my adult life.

We all have 168 hours a week.
Time spent doing one thing is
time not spent doing another.

— Laura Vanderkam

I need to remember that I'm the one in charge of my 168 hours a week. As Vanderkam says, "Sometimes when we get really busy, it’s easy to feel absent from our own lives." I need to be more mindful about living my full life.

I would like to make two lists that Vanderkam recommends — a "List of 100 Dreams" and a list of things that make me happy or that I find meaningful that take 30 minutes or less, or even less than 10 minutes.

When we analyze what we are actually doing with our 168 hours each week, Vanderkam asserts, except for sleeping and eating, we probably don’t have to do any of the things we're doing.

Everything else is a choice.

I choose to say "Yes" to the things that matter!

Loving My Actual Lifeby Alexandra KuykendallA Book Review

From the moment I saw the cover of this book, I knew that it contained something I needed for this year's exploration of my 2016 One Little Word. I was so right!

In the same spirit as Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project but with a biblical perspective, Alexandra Kuykendall's Loving My Actual Life outlines an experiment she created to improve her outlook on life. I think there is something here that every woman will find relevant to her life. Kuykendall's experiment lasted nine months, and she gives us an in-the-trenches view as she logs her thoughts and activities over each month.

Among my favorite months were her emphases on rest ("Sleep is worth prioritizing. Always.") and creativity (which I wrote about here).

Kuykendall is a natural storyteller, and she balances her stories with simple, readily quotable statements of truth. Each month includes questions for reflection useful for the individual reader and also productive for a group study.

I am excited to design my own experiment for "loving my actual life" because it's a full life and I want to feel more gratitude for it on a daily basis!

Disclosure: I was selected as a member of the launch team for this publication and, as such, received an advanced copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Year of Yes by Shonda RhimesA Book Review

I greatly enjoyed listening to Shonda Rhimes read this memoir of the year (or eighteen months) that she changed her life by saying "Yes"!

Honestly, I did not know who Rhimes is when the book caught my eye at the library. I've never seen one of her shows and am generally out of the popular television loop at this point in my life. But because my One Little Word for 2016 is "Yes" and I'd actually used the hashtag #TheYearOfYes, the title of the book caught my eye. I'm glad it did.

In the first half of the book, Rhimes' humor and narrative spoke directly to my soul and made me feel like I'd found my long-lost sister. I particularly loved the commencement speech she gave at Dartmouth in 2014, which is included in the book (as a live recording in this audio version). This brief passage seems particularly pertinent to the concept of "Yes":

Dreams are lovely. But they are just dreams — fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them — it’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change. So ... ditch the dream and be a doer, not a dreamer.

Maybe you know exactly what it is you dream of being, or maybe you're paralyzed because you have no idea what your passion is. The truth is, it doesn't matter. You don't have to know. You just have to keep moving forward. You just have to keep doing something, seizing the next opportunity, staying open to trying something new. It doesn’t have to fit your vision of the perfect job or the perfect life. Perfect is boring and dreams are not real. Just do.

I found the second half of the book to be a bit less lighthearted and somewhat focused on Rhimes' television shows, so it dragged a little bit for me.

But overall I found this to be an excellent read — particularly for my own "Year of Yes." And maybe now I'll go check out an episode of Grey's Anatomy!