It’s hard to believe 2020 is in full swing already! Heading into a New Year always makes me want to take a few moments to pause and look back over the past year, treasure the good stuff, and let the lessons and experiences help inform me going forward as well. And I hope that sharing a few favorites here can be encouraging for you, too.
Books
Narrowing down my favorite books from the year is especially challenging since I read so many great ones for school this past fall in addition to some I read personally earlier in the year. But here are a few that keep coming back to my mind, with links to previous posts if I’ve written more about them already:
** The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer– This is definitely in the category of “books I’ve heard about and wanted to read for a while but am happy for school to make me finally follow through with actually reading for myself.” It’s a short but powerful book, and my margins are filled with my own prayers in response to Tozer’s. I will want to revisit it regularly for sure.
** Between Two Trees by Shane Wood– This is a new book I was grateful to read in my second class this fall. As Shane shares about life between the tree of life in the Garden of Eden and the tree of life with healing leaves in the coming New Jerusalem, I’m continually struck by how he depicts sin as so much deeper than we typically think. He asserts that with the first sin in the Garden and every sin to follow, we have become united and “one flesh” with death. But Jesus, being fully human and fully God, submitted to death on the cross, the tree between two trees, to bring us redemption and transformation by union with Him.
“Who am I becoming?” is a key question that keeps coming back to me from the book as well. Shane reminds us, “Transformation isn’t a moment; it’s a movement.” And he points out, “Every decision we make, we become someone else. Every choice we make, we choose who we become.” I want to choose to be united with God and transformed more and more by Him into the image of Christ.
I also appreciated the author Shane Wood’s interviews both with Casey Tygrett on his OtherWISE podcast and with Kent Sanders on his Born to Create podcast. (Note that Kent has now renamed his podcast Smart Business Writing, but you can still get to his interview with Shane if you scroll back to episode 093 of that podcast on whatever app you choose.)
** As I Recall by Casey Tygrett– This was a book I just “happened” to take with me on vacation last spring that ended up seeming like perfect timing and perfect provision. I appreciate the way Casey talks about the role our memories play in our spiritual formation. And his analogy of picking up shells at the beach was fitting for my vacation and also helpful as an illustration for our Camp MAGIC children’s grief camp over the summer.
** The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman– I always love how Emily helps “create space for my soul to breathe,” and she is a kind companion in simply reminding me to do the next right thing ahead of me in love.
Podcasts
I also love listening to podcasts while driving, going for walks, and more, so these are hard to narrow down as well. There have been so many more that have been good for my soul and seeming like perfect timing, but here are a few favorites that you might enjoy:
** The Next Right Thing— In addition to the book, I love this podcast by Emily P. Freeman as well. Most of her episodes are only about 12 minutes long, and she generally offers a brief story, a heartfelt prayer, and a simple next right step. A few of my favorite episodes from this past year were
80: Don’t Take Offense
86: Decision-Making with James Bryan Smith (This one was longer than her usual since it was an interview–but so good!)
103: Look for the Children: Mister Rogers and Decision-Making (I think this might be my all-time favorite episode of hers… and that is saying a lot!)
Emily also has full transcripts of all her podcasts at the links above if you prefer reading to listening.
** That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs– Her podcast truly lives up to its name but can get into serious spiritual conversations as well. I especially loved her interviews with Mike Donehey, Chris Rice, David Platt, John Mark Comer, and Louie Giglio to name a few… and then her year in review episode with Eddie Kaufholz was just plain fun and made me snort-laugh way more times than I would like to admit!
I also really appreciated the episodes Annie had over the summer focused on the Enneagram. Up until that point, I felt like I had spent forever trying to figure out my number without ever having anything click just right… But when I listened to the “Nines” episode of Annie’s #EnneaSummer2019, I sent my friend a text message when I still had 10 minutes left to go in the podcast to say, “I am dying as they describe my life right now.” The house remodel story is what got me for sure, but it still was a process for me to really settle into thinking that was the number that fit me best. (Of course now all of it connects with me and helps so many other things make sense… so if you want to know way more about me than I’d like to admit, just listen to Annie’s conversation with the Enneagram Nines.)
** The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast— Carey is an amazing interviewer and has a great variety of guests and conversations. A few of my favorites from the past year include John Ortberg (on episodes 246 and 307), Ed Stetzer (episode 237), Kevin Queen (episode 252), and Annie Downs (episode 240). (As much as I love listening to Annie’s podcast, I felt like I saw a completely different side of her in Carey’s interview–and I was cheering for her all the way!)
** Fight Hustle, End Hurry— This podcast with Jefferson Bethke and John Mark Comer has just 10 episodes specific to the theme in both of their recently-released books, and all of them are excellent. Our culture seems to exalt a continuous spirit of hustle and hurry, but these are actually counter to the way of love and walking with Christ. I appreciate the way Jeff and John Mark discuss these concepts and give practical ways to live a more unhurried way of life. You can listen on your favorite podcast app or watch the videos of their conversations on YouTube if you prefer.
Decisions
I appreciated a recent episode of The Next Right Thing podcast where Emily encouraged us to pause to look back on our decisions from this past year. Truly 2019 has been full of many decisions that are forming me, not all of which I’m up for writing about at the moment. But I have to say the decision to write and share “treasures” every Tuesday for the past year has been a huge blessing! It started as a bit of an experiment last January, but taking the time to reflect and write about glimpses of God’s working and provision each week has been life-giving for me even as time constraints have been challenging. While I posted them on my blog at first, I’m now sharing my Treasure Hunt Tuesday notes by email each week, so if you’d like to receive them, simply sign up on the form at the end of this post.
The decision of going forward to school this past fall has been an absolute grace to me as well. Even though I’m just over a semester into the program, and the time/workload challenges are real, I know this is a direction God is calling me, and I am so grateful for what He is teaching me in the process.
Looking back at these and other decisions from the past year encourage my heart and remind me to keep trusting God’s leading for whatever path He might use to guide and shape me.
“You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
~ Psalm 16:11 (NASB)
What about you? What decisions have been forming you over the past year or looking ahead? How are they shaping you?
I’d love to hear about any of your favorite treasures as well! Feel free to leave a comment here or connect with me on Twitter or Instagram. And remember to sign up below if you’d like to receive my weekly “Treasure Hunt Tuesday” emails!
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