Everything I Read in April

I only read my Bible and Kate Bowler's Lent devotion during Lent. That makes this reading month's reading wrap-up small, but small and mighty. I am really enjoying my return to reading!

25) The Hardest Part by Kate Bowler—This was another free Lenten devotional by the prolific Kate Bowler. With a short scripture reading and reflection for each day (except Sunday), this book focuses on the hard parts of faith, with encouragements to be kind to oneself along the way. Bowler includes blessings from her books The Lives We Actually Have and Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day. I found this book helpful as I celebrated Lent, in all its hard and beautiful parts.

26) Waiting for Daybreak by Kathryn Cushman —Paige Woodward is grasping for straws to find a job as a pharmacist. When Clarissa's Richardson's grandfather offers her an excellent job with great pay, she jumps on it. She comes to learn that Clarissa does not really want her there, though. Thus begins Clarissa's vendetta against Paige, and Paige's wrestling with how to handle the situation. Enter sweet Ora Vaerge, a pharmacy patient who always has a Bible verse to share. Ora's encouragement from Psalm 46:1-2 to wait for the break of day sustains Paige, until Ora herself has a midnight moment. This book has some mystery and intrigue, a little romance, and a lot of faith integration. I enjoyed reading it!

27) Ordinary on Purpose: Surrendering Perfect and Discovering Beauty Amid the Rubble by Mikayla Albertson, MD—What I expected from this book was something different than it was. I expected a self-help, devotional type book about overcoming perfectionism from a faith perspective. What I read was a memoir detailing how early trauma led Dr. Mikayla Albertson to thinking she had to be perfect, and how her experience with a husband battling addiction tore down her life and helped her turn to God to rebuild it. While Albertson is Catholic, she writes a lot about Jesus and includes quite a bit of scripture. The latter parts of the book have a lot to do with Albertson’s role as a mother. While difficult to read at times because of the depths of abuse and despair Albertson experienced, this was a valuable treatise on learning to value life as it is, because “ordinary” life is actually a gift.

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Friends, have you read anything great lately? Please share in the comments section!