I had an unspoken goal at the beginning of 2015.

My goal was to read more books throughout the year. The previous year I was so busy and weary with over-commitment and because of that I was slowly letting go of some of the things I loved without realizing it. As time went on and it was more apparent that I needed rest and less involvement in outside things, it dawned on me that I missed reading.

Reading is something that I have enjoyed since I was a little girl. I have many interests and I never find a shortage of subjects to read up on. Also unspoken this year was the fact that I wanted to diversify the subjects that I read books on and I wanted to make sure that they were actual books and not more reading on the internet or a screen. Reading on the internet is not a bad thing but we all know that one thing leads to another. Not to mention the blue light can be hindering for sleep and can mess with your circadian rhythm depending on when you’re reading.

During the course of this year I feel like I had success in this unsaid intention. I purposed many times during each day and night to sit down or lay down and read books on Faith, Health and Home.

This year I read 20 books and currently I have 3 more started!

Prioritizing down time to read most days has been beneficial to my health and stress levels. It is calming, relaxing and comforting. Did you know that just the act of laying on your back can be helpful for your adrenal glands which in turn is helpful to stabilize your cortisol levels? It’s a wonderful thing.

I look back on this year able to say I am happy with every book I read, content with what I learned and satisfied with the outcome for my soul and health.

Maybe you’ll find a few books you would like on your 2016 reading list?

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Books that I read in 2015

{rather than giving a review of each book I will tell you what I liked about it and why. You can read a description of the book if you click on the pictures}

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  Unbroken: a World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Being that this was a true story I was drawn to this book. I love to learn about people and their lives. Louis Zamperini certainly had an adventurous life to write about full of victories and valleys of death. He lived as a POW during WWII and what he faced was unimaginable. I loved this book because seeing how God gave Louis the strength he needed in various moments of his life was inspiring and it was awesome to see God draw Louis to a relationship with him. Learning more about WWII from a real life perspective was also interesting and I learned a lot. If you’ve seen the movie be sure to still read the book because as usual the book holds a lot more detail and talks more about Louis’s faith.

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Hashimotos Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause by Izabella Wentz, PharmD

If you have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis this is a MUST READ book. Izabella has it and shares her journey of healing to the point of remission. This book has continued to be a resource for me time and time again and I know will be for many years. She writes about supplements, and testing – and even how and where to get your own lab testing done if you don’t have a compliant functional doctor. I love how she dives into the many contributing factors to autoimmunity and how she helps you pinpoint or discover the nuances of your body, triggers and root causes. This book was meaty and full of valid science, training and research and can help you break the viscous cycle of Hashi’s and feel better.

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 Charles Spurgeon The Great Orator, Heroes of Faith Series by J.C. Carlie

Always having a love for Charles Spurgeon I couldn’t wait to dig in to this biography. It is always so interesting to learn more about the life of someone I admire. Spurgeon truly is a hero of faith. Becoming a pastor at the age of 20 in the 1800’s and  growing one of the largest churches of his time all while dealing with physical ailments, but putting them aside to preach, shows Mr. Spurgeon’s faith. The fact that the man could have been financially rich in his life because of the people that were drawn to him and his preaching yet he chose to give it almost all away shows his selflessness and love for God. His life was inspiring and his sermons are always convicting and well spoken even now in the 2000’s. I have also been reading through many of his sermons with these volumes that I received as a gift last year. They are wonderful in depth bible studies that have helped me grow deeper in my faith.  I love this book and can’t wait for my boys to read it. For them to be able to see a man fully devoted to serving God in this world is priceless.

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 Eat the Yolks by Liz Wolfe, NTP

If you’re trying to understand why it’s ok to eat butter or saturated fat now or maybe you think meat is bad for you or will give you cancer (it will not) then this is a good book for you to read. I love this book because Liz dispels a lot of myths about the dangers of eating meat and saturated fat using science and scientific studies that have proven these foods are necessary and vital to humans. Our brains need cholesterol to function, our bodies need vitamin K2 from meat and the life sustaining properties of eggs make them powerhouse foods. I really love the section in this book about sunscreen and why we don’t need it. I am a “why” person; in other words, I cannot be told to just do something or don’t do something because another person said so (even if it’s a doctor.) I want to know the “why.” I want to know the back-end information so to speak. Her book answers a lot of why’s for me. In regards to the sunscreen she actually teaches about how our body works with vitamin D and what fair skinned, medium skinned and dark skinned bodies need as far as sun exposure without sunscreen. She’s one smart woman! Two things I did not like about this book is that there is some language in it. It bugs me when authors use curse words because it is SO unprofessional in my opinion. It detracts from who they are and what they are trying to get across. So beware, there is some language. Secondly, she, as with many people who identify themselves to follow a Paleo lifestyle, believes in evolution. It literally boggles my mind how someone like her or even full MD doctors know so much about the intricacies of our bodies yet they still do not believe a Divine Creator made us, rather we evolved. I don’t get it. We did not evolve. So, if you can get past those two things, this book is a full of facts, myth dispelling, gem that will make you want to return to meat, eggs and saturated fats (along with a HUGE plate of veggies.)

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 Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the to do List, and Letting go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters! by Rachel Macy Stafford

I was reading this at a time in my life that some dust was beginning to settle from several areas of drama in my life. During that time I was also realizing that I had gotten too busy with things like technology, the to-do list and over commitment. This book came at the perfect time for me. Rachel had many poignant personal stories of times and memories she has lost with her family doing the same thing that I was doing. Her stories hit home for me and helped me reevaluate what was important in my life and what I didn’t want to look back on with regret. Rachel has many practical ideas throughout her book on how to truly be “Hand’s Free” and undistracted – fully present where you’re at but especially with your family. I highly recommend this read if you are feeling taxed, guilty, burdened and stressed out. Proper perspective on the important things in life (which ultimately comes from the Word of God) can be supplemented here with her transparency and honesty in her journey to live an undistracted life.

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 Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina and Stress Relief by David Winston and Steven Maimes

Having a deep interest in natural healing and utilizing the plants that God gave us this book on Adaptogens was an exciting read for me. I love to know how plants and herbs can help us and even more impressive is an adaptogens ability to balance out our systems. They are SUPER Herbs! For instance, if you have high cortisol they can help lower it and that same adaptogen even knows how to increase the cortisol if you are too low. It’s so cool! Did you know that only 1 in 10,000 plants are adaptogens? Adaptogens, and any herbs, oils and supplements for that matter, must be used with knowledge and safety and that was my motive for reading this book. After having suffered from Adrenal Fatigue and messed up cortisol levels that returned slightly this year, this book has been a wonderful addition to my repertoire of weapons for healing naturally. I love getting my high quality bulk herbs here. They are the best quality and free of pesticides and molds. Again, this book is a great reference addition to my health library and it will be a go to to find out how to use certain adaptogens correctly and if there are any precautions to be taken. I like that when my doctor tells me that maybe I should take a certain herb for this or that I can come home to this book and look it up to learn in depth about it and if it would work for my body specifically.

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  The Mood Cure: The Four Step Program to Take Charge of Your Emotions–Today by Julia Ross, M.A.

This year I suffered from some occasional very deep lows that were hormone/nutrient related – the joys of getting a wee bit older and having autoimmunity all at the same time! I bought this book because it is an in depth write-up of various remedies that Julia Ross, M.A. has used clinically for depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, etc. She helps people get rid of mood disorders without the use of tobacco, caffeine, medications etc. In fact, she has helped thousands of people actually get off their mood altering medications and crutches and feel better through her natural approach. For anyone dealing with depression, anxiety, or any mood problem I highly recommend reading this. It guided me through various protocols and supplements that can help get out of that valley. She also helped me to understand what in my body may be out of balance chemically or nutritionally and why a certain supplement might help that particular problem. It also confirms that when people deal with these types of issues that generally it comes from an imbalance that can be fixed simply by addressing nutrient deficiencies. When you suffer with depression or the like it is always nice to know that it is not just WHO you are or genes you’ve inherited, rather it can be fixed and you don’t have to live that way. Her clinical stories are pretty amazing and she teaches how to find get your body back into balance and feeling better naturally!

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 Own Your Life: Living with Deep Intention, Bold Faith, and Generous Love by Sally Clarkson

Previously, my only knowledge of Sally Clarkson was from reading her and her husband Clay’s book – Educating the Whole Hearted Child. I joined a Mom Heart Group this year that has been such an answer to prayer and we read through this book together. Can I just tell you, I absolutely LOVED this book! Every chapter was chock full of great ideas for your family and creating a bond as well as ways to live intentionally. She really has a heart to help moms know that they matter and all the mundane things they do everyday count. She has raised her family and been through the trenches and has a wealth of wisdom to share. Almost every book I read I have a pen or pencil in hand to underline and write notes on the pages along the way. All the pages are covered with notes that I want to come back to in this book. This is a book that I will reread probably multiple times because different things will apply even more at different times in my life. Own Your Life was a breathe of fresh air for this mom who is learning to rest!

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 The Wahls Protocol: A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles by Terry Wahls M.D.

I have been wanting to read about the Wahls Protocol for a while now because I had several questions in my mind about how Dr. Terry Wahls put herself into remission from Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. Little blurbs I had seen here and there of how radical her change was certainly peaked my interest. I liked that this book addresses many autoimmune conditions and not just MS. Being and M.D., Dr. Wahls is very clear about what her protocol is and how to implement it. She has had many success stories from patients (she calls Wahls Warriors) who have followed her protocol and gotten better. One of the radical things she does is eats 9 cups of vegetable a day! That sounds crazy and hard to do but she helps the reader figure out how to actually do this in their everyday life. I created some little charts with checkboxes that I printed out and laminated so that I could try and eat that many veggies a day. When I put my mind to it I could do it. You can too and you’ll feel better for it! She talks about the importance of “Minding your Mitchondria” so that you can function neurologically the way you were meant to. For anyone with epilepsy, MS, Parkinsons or any other neurologic related autoimmune condition please, please read this book. It could change your life if you implement the changes she talks about. Even if you don’t have any of those conditions, it’s a wonderful read because of what you learn about how your body works and what it needs to function properly. I also love the fact that even though, Dr. Wahls feels best on a ketogenic diet, she gives several different options for those who need varying carb levels to feel their best. Beware, as I said above in another review, she is another doctor that believes in evolution. *If you would like me to email you a copy of the charts I made based off her book, for your reference please email me (at the email sign in the sidebar) and I will send them to you free.

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 Rise and Shine: Recipes and Routines For Your Morning by Megan Ann Scheibner

 Lunch and Literature: Learning Life Skills Through Literature by Megan Ann Scheibner

Dinner and Discipleship: Developing Devotion Day by Day by Megan Ann Scheibner

My husband and I attend our local homeschool conference together each year. If you homeschool and you have an opportunity to attend a conference with seasoned speakers please go! We always come back refreshed and rejuvenated with a new vision for what our homeschool needs to look like for our family. My husband loves to go because usually there are talks specifically related to the husbands and how they are a HUGE part of homeschool and it helps him and I to be on the same page for the education of our children. This year the Scheibners were one of the keynotes speakers. Steve, her husband, being an airline pilot has a pretty amazing story of his escape from the 911 terrorist attacks and how that experience inspired him to inspire other parents in regards to raising their children. They have a passion to help homeschooling parents develop character in their children. These books were inspiring because of all the practical tools they gave me to be able to implement in my everyday parenting to further develop my boys character. She highlights the morning times, afternoon times and evening times and gives tools that they use in their own home that work. At the end of each book has recipes in it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner depending on the book. I personally can’t eat any of them but that’s not why I got the books anyway. The average American could cook and eat all the quick and easy recipes she has in her books. Also, each book is really easy to read. I was able to get through each book in less than a day and gain many practical nuggets to implement in our home!

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  Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? when My Lab Tests Are Normal: a Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Hashimoto’s Disease and Hypothyroidism by
Dr. Datis Kharrazian

If you have Hashimotos this is another must read book. If you don’t understand what Hashimotos is, how your thyroid works and what it’s purpose is in your body it is very easy to fall prey to poor medical advice. When you aren’t your own advocate by learning about what you have and how to treat it you can cost yourself literally years of your life. Unfortunately I did that very thing. I blindly sat back and trusted my doctors to know what I didn’t, not realizing they were not trained at all about auotoimmune conditions and how to treat them functionally. Looking back I wish the day I had gotten diagnosed (9 years ago) I would have read this book and taught myself about what I had. It would have saved me 6 years of pain and suffering and LOTS of money. I love this book because it is written so it’s easy for most people to understand. Terminology isn’t all sciency and confusing but instead it is down to earth, reasonable and very helpful. You will know in depth what to do if you’ve gone to your doctor for thyroid problems and you still feel crummy. In fact, there is a lot that needs to be done and Dr. K’s book will guide you through. This is a great reference book to have on hand for knowing about lab testing, various inflammatory foods, thyroid medications, adrenal function, iodine, conversion factors, leaky gut and lots more! I really learned a lot reading this book and reference it often.

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  Saying it Well: Touching Others With Your Words by Charles R. Swindoll

Can I just say, I really love Chuck Swindoll!?! My mom always spoke highly of him and as I have grown up I have been attracted to his style of speaking and preaching. He is a real down to earth, genuine guy that seems to be full of love. In reading this I got a new perspective on what a pastor does to prepare a sermon as well as interesting stories about Mr. Swindoll’s life and how he came to be a pastor. I love biographies so these parts were so much fun to read! Also, throughout this book I was able to take away several important suggestions and ideas on how to speak to people, publicly. It was very intriguing. I don’t know how God will use this book in my life but I am happy that I took the time to read it and will most certainly go back to it time and time again for reference and ideas.

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 The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child’s Heart for Eternity by Sally Clarkson

Another Mom Heart Group read by Sally Clarkson! Although this book is among one of her firsts this dovetailed right into her newest Own Your Life book for me. It further enhanced the importance of a mother’s role in the child’s life and helped me to continually be sure that I am mentally and physically present for my kids. It’s so easy to get caught up in everything that wants to distract us from the most important things – God, marriage and then family. As per Sally’s usual, she gives many creative ideas to have peace through our mission of motherhood in our lives and to leave a lasting legacy for our children. There are many convictions that come along with her chapters but each of them draws you closer to the Lord and closer to your family. It did that for me. Sally is a heartwarming author and able to speak to a mother’s heart and help encourage her to stay the course even through the valleys.

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 The Autoimmune Solution: Prevent and Reverse the Full Spectrum of Inflammatory Symptoms and Diseases by Amy Myers, M.D.

By far this was my favorite book on autoimmunity that I read this year. I loved the others too but there is something about Dr. Myers that really makes putting an autoimmune condition in remission attainable. She has clear, straightforward protocols that have been proven to work clinically. Because I am a “why” person I also love her writing. She educates the reader so much about the body, how it works and what happens in autoimmunity. Then, she tackles the solution one piece at a time and helps to make a manageable process for anyone willing to try the Myers Way. Something else I love is that her recipes are appealing, easy to make and use ingredients that are whole food based and easy find and purchase. This is a huge part of making the solution achievable. I first heard Dr. Myers when she interviewed over 40 notable people in her Autoimmune Summit. She is likable, fresh, relevant and has a success story of her own she writed about in the book. I SO WISH that she could be my doctor but I would have to go all the way to Austin, Texas for that. She really makes going from A-Z for a person who wants healing and remission from autoimmunity doable! If you have RA, MS, Hashimoto’s, Chronic Fatigue, Grave’s, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Eczema, Psoriasis or any other inflammatory autoimmune condition this is an absolute MUST READ. Should you choose to follow her simple protocol you will see results. The Autoimmune Solution is a book I will reference time and time again for myself and to help those interested. It is excellent.

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 Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus by Rifqa Bary

Getting away from health books for a moment, I really enjoyed Hiding in The Light. Rifqa Bary is one brave girl who is sold out for Christ and her faith bubbles out of her. Reading about her oppressive life as a part of her Islamic family was heart wrenching. How a little girl could go through the things she did was unimaginable. However, her story has God’s fingerprints all over it. How He drew her close to Him and put people into her life at specifically the right time as well as protected her through all of the horrific things she had to endure amazed me. Her life is encouraging and inspiring and made me want to have her unshakable faith. I love how real God is to her and the danger she was willing to put herself in just to serve and follow her Lord. If you need boldness or to be inspired I recommend reading this book.

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 The Micronutrient Miracle: The 28-Day Plan to Lose Weight, Increase Your Energy, and Reverse Disease by Jayson and Mira Calton

Having dabbled a little bit in micronutrients the title of this book peaked my interest. Not to mention, when I pre-ordered it I got $200 worth of coupons to online healthy food places I frequent. The Micronutrient Miracle was beneficial for me to read because it extended my knowledge of what micronutrients are, where I can get them, why they are important to my body and how much I need of each one. Micronutrients are vital to our lives and are what help us to thrive and not get sick. The descriptions of each micronutrient were helpful and I loved the information about what micronutrients compete with each other and why it’s important to take only certain vitamins together. If you want an in depth look at all the micronutrients and learn how to take them for maximum effectiveness then this is a book you’ll want to read. One thing I didn’t like about this book…. Jayson and Mira proved their point about how important it is to take a vitamin that doesn’t have micronutrients competing with each other. They have patented their version of a multi that has the vitamins packaged properly so that you will get maximum efficacy with each dose and none of them will be competing. While, I believe they are right on and would love to take their supplements (I can’t because they have iodine and with Hashi’s I can’t) their book became a bit salesy as I got closer and closer to the recipes. Also, in their recipes they have a few other products they have created and marketed that are in A LOT of their recipes and in order to make their dishes you have to have their products. The salesy-ness and necessity of having their products detracted from a portion of the book for me. However, if I had to do it over again, I would still buy the book because of the information about micronutrients because it is chock full of amazing information that is not to miss!

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 Ronald Reagan: 100 Years: Official Centennial Edition from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation

Being that we are coming up on an election year and there have been many quotes and speeches shared by Ronald Reagan lately I really wanted to learn more about who he was and his life. As you know by now I do love real stories about people and so this fit the bill. I liked how this book was written because it was easy to follow Reagan’s life chronologically and there were some amazing full page photographs throughout the book. This is a coffee table type book that is hard bound too so it’s a keeper. It really commemorated who President Reagan was and his heart for America. I also can’t wait for my boys to read this to learn more about what a wonderful man and president he was.

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  The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas by Ann Voskamp

Last but not least… Reading this throughout the advent season was just what I needed this year. Because I am a type A I had every intention of creating her Jesse Tree complete with the amazing ornaments that she designed to hang on it that go with each day BUT since I have also been learning to rest and let go of things, I ended up not doing that tree and those ornaments. I thought I might be missing out but the whole point, for me, in reading this book everyday for 25 days was to focus more on Christ during advent rather than getting caught up in the hustle and bustle that America has brought to Christmas. Although the ornaments would have been nice, not doing them did not detract from the book at all. Ann has a very different way of writing that for some is painful to read but for me I love the warmth that comes across and her perspective on things. She takes something ordinary and makes it extraordinary! I was amazed most days as she would take a portion of scripture and literally transform it right before my eyes. I would see it and experience it differently. So much so that I would find myself pondering the scripture and what she said throughout each day. It was powerful! This book has 25 days of devotionals that are dated. It starts with a picture of her intricate ornaments that apply to the verse, then the section of verses, then her write-up about the verses and after that comes one idea of something to do that day that could apply those verses, ending with a few questions and a quote from someone well known. The things to do are simple and not overwhelming and obviously you don’t have to at all. While I read this I journaled my thoughts, favorite quotes and answers to her questions. I found myself excited to get up the next morning to dive into the word with Ann. This will probably be a book I will go through personally during each advent. It really drew my heart to Christ and gave me awe and wonder at the miracle of his birth and sacrifice for us. To help find rest in the potentially crazy season this comes highly recommended from me. Maybe next advent you can work through it?

Well, that’s all friends! You may have had to take this post in chunks since it was so long but that’s ok, I don’t mind. I would encourage you to take some down time next year to rest and read. Curl up with a book in bed or light a candle and bundle up with a blanket in a cozy chair and take some time away from the screen and refresh your life. It helps tremendously in healing! Oh, also, don’t always read about stuff that relates to work! Be sure to let your mind focus on other pleasurable things like a hobby or a hero or even something on your bucket list.

Cheers to rest and reading in the new year!

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