My Summer Reading List

My summer goal is to be grounded in Scripture, in writing and art, and in physical health. I wanted part of being grounded in writing to mean that I actually take the time to read books this summer and be grounded in the writing of others. Here is my Summer Reading List*, because I need a list. I picked books I already have since many of them have been sitting on my shelves unread and I’m trying not to buy any more books before finishing the ones I already have.

Okay, in full honest disclosure, I’ve been buying new books because I just can’t help myself. But I’m happy to say that I’ve been buying books for ministry and personal growth, including the first two books below.

Ministry Books

Making Your Children’s Ministry the Best Hour of Every Kid’s Week by Sue Miller. I started this a week or two ago and it’s already better than I expected. I like Sue Miller’s honesty in the struggles she and her team have faced. I didn’t expect a focus on the family in her book, but it’s there. Since we’ve got some changes coming in this transition to family ministry, I appreciate seeing how her Children’s Ministry works without being an Orange or D6 ministry, but keeping the family focus.

Children’s Ministry Volunteers That Stick by Jim Wideman. This has been on my bookshelf forever! I’ve been meaning to crack it open, but haven’t had the chance. Since this is a thin book, I just might start carrying it around my purse. My other books, including Sue Miller’s book, are on my Nook shelf. I love the feel of physical books, but being able to carry a library in my purse is so convenient!

Fiction

So Shines the Night by Tracy Higley has also been on my Nook shelf for a long while. It’s the story of Daria, a woman with a secret and a dark past who takes refuge in Ephesus and a group of people who call themselves followers of The Way. I’m excited to get into this one because I love Christian historical fiction. It’s fun to imagine what I would do if I lived with the early Christians. I like to think it’s more than just running away from the lions and gladiators. I also want to get into this one because I recently bought A.D. 30: A Novel by Ted Dekker, another Biblical times fiction.

Funny story. In his sermon one Sunday, my pastor asked if anyone knew what early Christians were called. Having just added So Shines the Night to my library, I loudly blurted out the answer. And he heard it and asked me to repeat my answer, which was The Way. Total nerd moment right there.

The Lutheran Ladies’ Circle: Plucking One String by Kris Knorr is about Vera, the queen bee of the Lutheran Ladies Circle at her church. Things are changing and Vera is not having it. It sounds hilarious and the Kindle edition is free right now!

Other Books, well one book

642 Things to Write About by The San Francisco Writers’ Grotto. My sister gave this book to me and I’m finally cracking it open to practice being grounded in [my own] writing. It’s a book of writing prompts with spaces to write in it. I’m randomly picking a prompt and spending 15 minutes to write.

I’m setting myself up not to fail by keeping my Summer Reading list short since summer gets busy for me. Knowing what I’ve got on my plate is one of the things I’ve learned about faith. Although we believe greatly and believe the impossible because they’re possible with God, we need to remember that we can’t do everything at once. That’s a fast track way to burnout.

There are some things we need to say “no” to because that means saying “yes” to other things. I’m saying no to some books I want to read because I need to spend time preparing for ministry events.

Summer feels like the season of possibility. Days are longer so we feel like we can do it all, and that we should be doing it all. It’s okay not to. It’s okay to limit your focus on a limited number of things. Like going on one vacation, or small staycations, or none at all. Like reading 5 books or even none. I say that with my reader self going, “No! No! No!” But yes! It’s okay to do small things and have short lists.

What is on your Summer Reading list or Summer To-Do list? If you could narrow it down to 5 things, what would you include?

*This list contain affiliate links, which means you don’t get charged extra if you buy the book, but I might get a little blessing in my coffee fund.