This month has been FULL and my head is still spinning from it all. November marks the first full month of juggling a new job and additional freelance hours, so this reading list is a little shorter, but I treasured every book.

At the heart of our vision is not a new way of doing events but the creation of Word-centered gospel communities in which people are sharing life with one another and with unbelievers, seeking to bless their neighborhoods, “gospeling” one another and sharing the good news with unbelievers. The context for this gospel-centered community and mission is not events but ordinary, everyday

Tim Chester & Steve Timmis

Everyday Church, by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis: We read this book with our church planting Core Team over the last few months, using our time together to discuss what it means to be a church, what our goals and values are, and how we want to love and serve our community. Tim and Steve so clearly articulate what culture looks like today and what that means for the church. Their perspective and views on what a church should be so closely fit what we hope to be as a church, so this was such a fitting and wonderful read!

Trials have a way of revealing where our hearts are, where we’ve been placing our trust, and where we’ve been seeking joy, hope, and security.

Chelsea Patterson Sobolik

Longing for Motherhood, by Chelsea Patterson Sobolik: “You should read this book if you are in the same situation (the author) is in, as I was in, but you should read it even if you are not. There is someone around you right now who is hurting, with dreams deferred, or destroyed, of being a mother or a father. Maybe it’s you or maybe it’s someone who sits beside you..” This quote from Russell Moore echoes my sentiments about this book. Chelsea gently articulates the heaviness and the grief of walking through infertility and childlessness. But she also so confidently points to how our hope in Jesus speaks into our trials. To anyone in the church, specifically to anyone struggling with childlessness, please read this book and be comforted by the hope within.

At the end of the month I’ll be sharing a giant list of ALL the books I read this year, so stay tuned for that!