This fall on Bloom (in)courage, we’d like to share a few of our favorite reads with you. We have something for everyone in our lineup, and we hope a selection or two speaks a blessing to you! Tune in each week as each author shares about their book.
{And you know there will be giveaways involved!}
August 26-30
When Sorry Isn’t Enough: Making Things Right with Those You Love by Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thomas
Relationships are fragile. And whether fractured by a major incident or a minor irritation, the ensuing emotions can often feel insurmountable preventing the relationship from moving forward or the offended from moving on. In order to make things right, something more than “sorry” is needed.
Bestselling author Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thomas have teamed up to deliver this groundbreaking study of how we give and receive apologies. It’s not just a matter of will, but it’s a matter of how you say, “I’m sorry” that ultimately makes things right with those you love. This book will help you discover why certain apologies clear the path for emotional healing, reconciliation, and freedom, while others fall desperately short.
September 2-6
Speak Love: Making Your Words Matter by Annie Downs
Words stick around. (Just think about middle school a sec. See?) Which means everything you say—from what tell your friends, whisper about your enemies, post online, mutter to yourself, or even say to the celebrity you ran into at the coffee shop—carries a whole lot of power. The question is, are you ready to use that power to make a real difference? Because the truth is, you could be part of the first generation who uses their words to build up and not tear down, and even kill the mean girl mentality.
Through very funny stories, Scripture, and a real understanding of the good, bad, and ugly ways we can use our words, Annie Downs explores the difference you can make when you speak love to others, to God, and even to yourself. Because when you speak love, you speak life. And that’s what matters.
September 9-13
Becoming Myself: Embracing God’s Dream of You by Stasi Eldredge
Becoming Myself is a hope-filled book for anyone who wonders if her life will ever change—if she will ever change. In Stasi Eldredge’s most intimate book yet, she shares her own struggles with self-worth, weight, and her past as she shows readers how God is faithfully unveiling who we truly are.
Stasi urges you to lay down your past thoughts about yourself and receive God’s incredible dreams for you instead. We cannot heal ourselves. We cannot become ourselves by ourselves. But we are not by ourselves.
The King of love wants to help us become. God desires to restore us — the real us. As he heals our inner life, he calls us to rise to the occasion of our lives. The most important journey any woman can take is the journey into becoming her true self through the love of God. The more of God’s you become, the more yourself you become—the “self” he had in mind when he thought of you before the creation of the world.
September 16-20
Mom in the Mirror: Body Image, Beauty and Life After Pregnancy by Dena Cabrera & Emily Wierenga
Mom in the Mirror: Body Image, Beauty, and Life after Pregnancy is for every woman who has ever doubted herself or her self-worth after the birth of a child. Because most women spend much of their lives attempting to change their bodies, it’s not surprising that the weight gain that comes along with pregnancy (and post-pregnancy), coupled with the challenges of parenting, only exacerbate issues with weight, body image, disordered eating, and self-esteem.
Drawing on the wisdom of eating disorders expert Dr. Dena Cabrera, as well as the personal experiences of former anorexic Emily Wierenga, Mom in the Mirror is a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual response to a female generation seeking its true identity in an appearance-based world. With personal stories, expert advice, reflection questions, and helpful tools, this book is an inspiring read intended for women everywhere who want to restore a positive body image and to overcome the insecurities that arise when pregnancy is over and child-rearing begins.
September 23-27
The Artist’s Daughter: A Memoir by Alexandra Kuykendall
When Alexandra Kuykendall became a mother it was the beginning of a soul-searching journey that took her into her past and made her question everything she’d experienced–and a lot of what she hadn’t. The only daughter of a single, world-traveling mother and an absent artist father, Alexandra shares her unique quest to answer universal questions: Am I lovable? Am I loved? Am I loving?
In short, moving episodes, Alexandra transports readers into a life that included a childhood in Europe, a spiritual conversion marked more by questions than answers, a courtship in the midst of a call to be with troubled teens, marriage and motherhood–and always, always, the question of identity. Through her personal journey, women will discover their own path to understanding the shape of their lives and a deeper sense of God’s intimate presence within it.
September 30
Leading and Loving It: Encouragement for Pastors’ Wives and Women in Leadership by Lori Wilhite & Brandi Wilson
Being a woman in ministry, whether you are partnering with your husband in his calling or serving in your own leadership role, is challenging. While serving as mentors, counselors, advisors, and even cheerleaders, women carry numerous responsibilities. Lori Wilhite and Brandi Wilson know about this first-hand as the wives of two well-known pastors in America.
In LEADING AND LOVING IT, Lori Wilhite and Brandi Wilson offer a support system to help women make connections to get the encouragement that sustains them and become equipped for the ministry God has called them to pursue. They give readers tools for understanding that external pressures and expectations are only important if they fall in line with what God intends for your life and ministry and they give answers for how to deal with criticism, isolation, finding your personal calling, and what happens when you reach a place of burn-out, and more.
October 2
Audrey Bunny by Angie Smith
From best-selling women’s author Angie Smith comes this sweet children’s book about a stuffed animal named Audrey Bunny who fears her imperfections make her unworthy of a little girl’s love. She’ll learn the truth soon enough, and young readers will learn that everyone is special and wonderfully made by God.
Join us on Monday (August 26) when we kick off this series! See you soon!
Much love,
The Bloom (in)courage team
Sarah says
This sounds a great selection of books. Looking forward to the series.
Suzanne says
Audrey Bunny sounds perfect for my granddaughter who is going to be six soon!
Kathy @ In Quiet Places says
I have been so negligent with my reading this summer and definitely looking forward to getting into some good books this fall, this reading list will certainly help!
Mae says
I’m inspired by just reading the topics for fall reading. What blessings await!!
Jas says
Will you be able to get these books from a Christian book shop in New Zealand? Can someone email me back in case I can’t check a response on this page? Many thanks
Kaitlyn at (in)courage says
Hi Jas – I don’t see an email address for you, so I’m hoping you get this reply. I’m now sure if they will be in New Zealand, but many of the books for Recommended Reads are available in the DaySpring online store, dayspring.com
Thanks!
Viki M. says
What a collection! Any chance to enter the giveaway if I live in Central Europe?
Jennifer says
Will these books be available to purchase in the DaySpring store?
Kaitlyn at (in)courage says
Hi Jennifer, if they are a book by one of our contributors, it’s very likely you’ll find them in the DaySpring store! 🙂