The Destiny of One

Adventure Between the Pages

Jane Austen Inspired Valentine Sale!

1:00 AM

Where Destiny Takes You

I’m not Strong Enough to be Single

11:14 AM

2019

Top Ten Books of 2018

4:25 PM

This post contains affiliate links.

I’m always so excited about making this list every year. Some years it has been hard to figure out how out of all the books I’ve read, how to get it down to ten. Some years, it’s been a stretch. This year, the list came together easily. There were only eleven books that I wanted to put on this list and it was easy to cut one out.

First, let's look at some fun stats from the year:

You can see more by going to my Goodreads page HERE.

So, here are the top ten books I read in 2018

10. The Lost Heiress

This was an early read in the year. While fiction, it helped me process some of my own feelings. The story itself is brilliantly written and powerful. I listened to the audio version and the narration was perfect.

My Review | Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Goodreads

9. Monster

I’ve wanted to read this book for years since it came out. I finally was able to read it during the time that I had Kindle Unlimited. This was not an easy book to read. It was heart-pounding, disgusting at times, and sad. Yet the point of the story and the careful way that things were handled made it one of my favorites for the year. It was a compelling book that examines the value of life – every life.

My Review | Kindle | Paperback | Goodreads

8. Letters to Julia

I read all of Meredith Allady’s books this year and I loved them all. Letters to Julia was my favorite. It has the feeling of a Jane Austen with stronger elements of faith, and a loving family at the center. I enjoyed this book so much.

My Review | Kindle | Paperback | Goodreads

7. Job: A Man of Heroic Endurance

I’ve almost read this entire series by Charles Swindoll. I wasn’t expecting this book to be so impactful. This was another book that helped me process some of my own emotions. His insight from the book of Job on how to deal with stressful situations while they are happening and afterward was extremely helpful.

My Review | Kindle |Paperback | Goodreads

6. Bitter Winter

One of the things that I love with this whole series is that it reflects life in a powerful way. Joy and sorrow are intermingled in a powerful way. This whole series is amazing, and I think all of them have made my yearly list. It is fantasy at its best.

My Review | Kindle | Paperback | Goodreads

5. A Holy Passion: A Novel of David Brainerd and Jerusha Edwards

I have long admired the Edwards family. I’ve read a lot of books about them and I knew they had a connection with Brainerd. I read this book and I have to say I haven’t read another book like it. It was honest about how girls can struggle with feeling attraction and attachment to a man without any encouragement. It also showed a godly way of handling it. This story was also about true love, devotion to God, and self-sacrifice. It made me want to revisit all those books I read about this family and also encouraged me in my walk with God.

My Review | Kindle | Paperback | Goodreads

4. Winning God's Heart: A Biblical Path to Intimate Friendship with God

This book made me think, a lot. It helped remind me of the importance of a close, intimate friendship with God. Do I agree with the author on every aspect? No. However, as Carolyn Currey examined the men and women of the Bible that have shared a close friendship with God, I was reminded that, despite what the world says, friendship with God is more important than a successful career, a marriage, and children, or any achievements that might seem important.

My Review | Kindle | Paperback | Goodreads

3. Beloved

My brother bought me this series at a time when I needed it. This trilogy, written as kingdom fantasy, has the same feeling as the book of Kings. It feels a lot like Isreal but also feels like the story of our hearts. I think it was about a week before I felt like reading anything else. It left me feeling satisfied, victorious, and hopeful.

My Review | Kindle | Paperback | Goodreads

2. Anna and the King of Siam

While classified as fiction, this story is true. Margaret Landon took the books that Anna Leonowens’ wrote, did some research into some of the events, and produced this story. I read this book with a friend. We had been reading a classic each month this year. This book caught me by surprise. This book was a powerful reminder to me of sticking to the course. I was discouraged because my life is pretty much at the same place it has been in for years, only a little busier. I can’t see a lot of results from my labor and choices. Anna went to teach in a very hostile environment and her months and years in Siam were filled with discouragement. She kept her goal in mind: She could help shape a better future if she stayed the course and taught the royal children. She made a huge impact on the next generation. Things like slavery disappeared quickly when the children she taught took power all because she didn’t give up.

My Review | Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Goodreads

1. Your Powerful Prayers

Those of you who have been following me for a while, know that 2017 was a tough year. 2018 was a year of healing. In October, I read this book and realized that one of the things I had stopped doing was praying for big things. I had been so disappointed in 2017, I was afraid to ask for anything but the smallest things. I have a prayer card in my Bible now with a list of things only God can do. I pray for them almost daily. As I worked through the book and workbook, I also experienced some answers for wisdom about some of the smaller things I was facing. This book helped me process a lot of things and helped rekindle the flame in my heart.

My Review | Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Goodreads

There you have it! My top 10 books of 2018. You can find lists of past years here.

What are your top ten?

2018

Better than I

11:47 PM

Post contains Amazon Affiliate links

I wasn’t planning on writing a blog post but as 2018 is drawing to a close, I had some words on my heart I wanted to share.

2018 has been a year of healing. I spent the first day of the year crying because I felt so broken. I wondered if any amount of time would put together the pieces of my heart that had been pounded to a pulp by 2017. I cried because I didn’t want to have to face another year that might hold just as much hurt.

I sit here tonight, looking back at a year that was nothing like what I dreamed, with many of my prayers still unanswered, but with a heart that has healed and is stronger and wiser.

I’ve prayed diligently that relationships that had been destroyed in 2017 would be restored, God said no.

I prayed that my sister Rose, who had her heart broken would find new love it 2017, God said no.

I planned that 2018 would be a year full of writing, instead, God provided two other jobs to take up much of my time.

I didn’t know if I would be able to trust others like I did before, my Heavenly Father has given me the strength to do so.

I wanted to hide from the outside world, God laughed and gave me more new people and places than I’ve had in a long time.

I never thought I would recover, in a sense, I haven’t. I hope I never do, because the healing that I’ve experienced has drawn me closer to God, left me in awe of the day to day grace.

In reflecting on the past year I found myself thinking about Joseph. Since I was a sickly teenager, he has been my hero. He faced overwhelming challenges. He was ripped from his home by his own brothers. He built a life out of nothing with the help of God only to have it ripped out from under him by one false accusation.

As I writer, I’ve often imagined what the darkest moment of Joseph’s life was and what it felt like. I have to think it was a couple of weeks after he had been thrown into prison. He wasn’t getting out, he had a lot of time to think, and he knew how hard it was to rebuild a life. This time, he had even less opportunity than he did in as a slave. As he sat in that cell, I imagine that there came a moment when he realized he had a choice. He could give up and just let his new life wrap around him and consume him or he could believe that God was still working all things out for his good.

We see which path he took. Like anyone, there had to be many times when he was discouraged and the choice was again placed before him. We can see by the results that he chose to trust that God was working things out for his ultimate good.

Perhaps, that’s a lesson that I’m really grasping this year. I don’t understand a lot of things. I don’t understand why there aren’t any wedding rings for any of my siblings. I don’t know why prayers for restoration for broken relationships has been answered with a no. I don’t understand why God has made some aspects of my life so easy when others have it so hard. I don’t really need to.

Perhaps what I’m learning is something I grasped in my early teens and somehow lost: Sometimes, there aren’t answers. We aren’t always told why, how, or when. Sometimes, we have to trust that God is in control and everything is working out for our good. Trusting the One who made all things and knows all things seems logical when you think about it.

I don’t know what 2019 holds, but I don’t need to. I know the One who holds 2019.

This song is from the movie Joseph King of Dreams. It’s been very meaningful to me.