In Gospel Centered Mom, Brooke McGlothlin guides the reader through 10 freeing truths we should strive to embrace as we raise our children. She begins with introducing what she calls a ME Gospel – where we “worship ourselves instead of God, to believe God exists for us instead of us for Him.” And then she continues with reminding us why theology (the study of God) is so important for ALL Christians.
But theology is actually of the utmost importance to everyone — deep-thinker, academic type or not — because what we believe affects what we do, how we behave, and how we treat others. What we believe influences the way we understand ourselves, and, most of all, shapes our understanding of God. (pg. 39)
Amen.
The stories that the author told were sometimes painful and embarrassing – hard but true stories that made me feel sick to my stomach because I’ve felt the same way at times too. And yet they gave me hope to continue doing the hard work of loving my children, even when it’s easier to just give up.
As parents, we tend to view our relationship with our children as an us-versus-them situation. Changing our perspective just slightly and taking the time to learn to fight for our children instead can restore hope, peace, and unity to our homes. (pg. 200)
Each chapter ends with nuggets of truths that I want to put up on the fridge – hard truths that sting, and then beautiful responsive truths that send us back to resting in God. One example, which I’ve especially needed to hear recently :
God isn’t necessarily most concerned with our child’s happiness, health, wealth, freedom, or safety. When we make Jesus our priority, we release to Him the burden of responsibility for our child’s future. (pg. 154)
I can’t wait to recommend this book to other moms – I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review, BUT would buy it for another struggling mom in a heartbeat.
, so I was pretty certain I’d enjoy Magpie Murders as well. A little background on my reading habits… I’m a quick reader, averaging three to four books a week. I have so many books on my nightstand and kindle that I want to read, and I feel pressure to get through as many as I can before they’re due back to the library. Does anyone else feel that way? Magpie Murders is due TODAY, with no holds left (should I put a post-it note in for the next reader that they’re going to love it?!) and there was no way I’d leave it unfinished. So I started it Saturday, thinking I’d finish it on Sunday. I checked the page number at the end, 236, and thought for sure that wouldn’t be a problem. And then I got into the story, and realized how wrong I was — the book is, in fact, 496 pages. And it’s not just one book, but a mystery novel within a mystery novel. If you like smart English crime fiction, Magpie Murders is definitely a book to check out. Here’s the description from the inside cover:
Harry Potter (of course!) These books are so well-loved in this family that the covers have fallen off. If you think the first book is too juvenile, skim it and move on to the next – the books get better with each one you read.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins This is a series where the movies are better than the books. The story is creative, but the writing was definitely geared for a YA/middle grade audience.
The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson – This YA fantasy series was hard to start. It had been recommended to me so many times that, after two earlier failed attempts, I plowed through the first 50 or so pages not understanding the world he was creating (I needed the imagination of my 13 year old) and then couldn’t put it and the three following books down after that.
(Port William) by Wendell Berry – This technically isn’t a series, but a set of books based on different characters in the town of Port William. So far I’ve read Jayber Crow and Hannah Coulter and have about 5 others waiting for me on my Kindle.
-Sherlock Holmes Series by Anthony Horowitz – I picked up the second book on a whim because Moriarty is hands down my favorite character (sorry, Benedict Cumberbatch!) of Sherlock on BBC. In 2011, Anthony Horowitz received the first official endorsement from the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle to write new Sherlock Holmes novels.
by Genevieve Cogman – Librarians with magical powers go through portals in an invisible library to solve mysteries and save important books. How could you go wrong with this one? Such a fun book!
by Madeline L’Engle
) by Jane Harper – The Dry was so good, with a satisfying conclusion, so I’ll be interested to see how she’ll tie in 
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, 
. And if you didn’t notice, there are a lot of library books in my piles – my library is the best! They’ve bought every book I’ve requested (I’m telling myself it has to be because I have good taste in books) and they have no checkout limit, which is good for my family. Since school is back in session we only have 50 checked out right now.
Read A Better Book 