I am in a place in my life right now where my cup empties fast. I am really longing for and trying to spend any free time with things that are holy, peaceful and good. I thought I would share the things that I have been reading, watching and listening to lately that are restoring my soul.
A Curious Faith by Lore Wilbert. I love that Lore is encouraging curiosity as a spiritual habit. So often we are taught as Christians that it is not ok to ask questions but Lore’s book shows us that the bible is full of people asking, including God himself! The book is divided into three sections: questions God asks us, questions we ask God, and questions we wish someone would ask us. The section on questions we wish someone would ask us kills me; “What are you looking for? Do you Want to Be Well?”, etc. An entire book based on the questions asked in the bible and what it means for our lives is just so brilliant and so moving.
Living Freely and Lightly by Emily Lex. I love everything that Emily Lex does. I used to follow her when she was a blogger. Since then she has shifted directions and is an author as well as a watercolor artist. Living Freely and Lightly is a guided journal to help you live freely and lightly in the Lord. She asks you to accept Jesus’s invitation to “recover your life, experience real rest, and learn His unforced rhythms of grace”. I appreciate the questions she asks. They are kind of in your face (LOL) but I need that. For instance, her chapter on control asks, “I am particular about ________ because ________. When it doesn’t go how I want, I _________ and the impact is __________.” Wow, those are good questions!
Anything from the Wendell Berry Port William Series. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I am reading through the Port William series as we speak. I don’t know how to adequately describe the beauty of Wendell’s books. When someone says “book series”, I get nervous like they’re going to be these melodramatic, cutesy stories about living in a small town. These books are anything but. They are not sequential so you can read them in any order but they all relate and interweave in such a lovely way. These books seem agenda-less, the author is merely telling stories about people and their everyday lives in a small rural town but they are challenging me with this alternate way of living that involves community, goodness and what is really important. I’m reading Jayber Crow right now which explores the idea of calling and wow, what an incredible book!
A podcast that I listened to the other day and absolutely loved was Business with Purpose and her interview with Liz Bell Young. I recently discovered Liz Bell Young and love following her. She is a contributing writer for Magnolia Journal and has the coolest Instagram account. She edited and created this amazing journal that Anthropologie carried called Haven which celebrates through incredible photographs and prose what it means to find home. I won the magazine in an Instagram giveaway she did and it is just as lovely as I hoped it would be. I found out that she was doing a podcast interview and was so excited to hear more about her. I had no idea that she is a Christian! Her whole interview was so inspiring about the creative process, following the promptings of the Holy Spirit and just going for it. I highly recommend it!
I hope you love all of these things as much as I have! They have definitely been a source of encouragement and restoration for me.