The Campbell Crew: Summer Reading.

This summer I challenged myself to start reading again.

Since the twins were born, reading has definitely not been a priority for me other than my Bible studies, even though I love to read. Right before the girls were born I went on a reading frenzy because I knew that it would be years before I could sit down and read for pleasure. And I was basically right. I read a couple of book last summer for a summer book club but nothing since then!

So, this summer, I decided to read a chapter a day and work through all the books that I have had on my shelf that I have wanted to read.

Here is what I have read so far.

The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn This book is about biblical giving storing up treasure that actually matters. Good book with really great principles for giving.

Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp I read this book a long time ago and wanted to reread it now that Cole is getting older and it is a little more applicable. I LOVE this book and has really had me examine my heart when discipling, helped me make more biblical decisions when disciplining and focus our "disciplining conversations" on matters of the heart. If you are a parent and have not read this, do it.

The Resolution for Women by Pricilla Shirer My parents gave me this book (and Brenner The Resolution for Men) at Christmas and I really enjoyed it. Some chapters were a little more applicable to me than others and I will be honest that I just read the book and did not actually sign all the resolutions like they suggest. But Shirer, who is awesome, makes some really great points and definitely challenged me in areas to make life resolutions in areas such as bible memorization, being a blessing to others, living with grace and leaving a godly legacy just to name a few.

It Starts with Food by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig Most of you by now have heard of the Whole30 movement that spun out of this book. I was really interested to hear what they had to say and read more about how our food choices, even some of the foods that we think are good, are really affecting our bodies. I have not done Whole30, and I am not sure that I will, but over the last 6 months I have drastically reduced the amount of sugar and artificial sugar that I eat. I have been committed to cooking and feeding my family almost all of our meals from scratch for a long time too and so much of what this book is based on and recommends is how we live, just not 100%. It was interesting.

The 23rd Psalm for the 21st Century by Lon Solomon This book was written by my pastor from my home church in Virginia. I have had it for years and I finally was able to read it. It is an in depth study of the 23rd Psalm and I loved dissecting this beloved psalm to learn the history and context in which it was written.

The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson Another awesome parenting book talking about the ministry us moms have of laying the foundation of Christ for our kids by providing the gifts of grace, faith, training, service and more based on Jesus' example for us. So, so good.

Twelve Unlikely Heroes by John MacArthur This book looks in depth at 12 people of the Bible who were used by God to do amazing work and ministry. Each of them were far less than perfect and were not the world's choice for service or heroism, but they were God's choice. I learned a lot about these 12 biblical heroes and their examples.

Africa Unchained by George Ayittey A heavy read (which I have not quite finished) about the countries of Africa and the pattern of bondage and lack of freedom that keeps, and will keep, these countries from pulling out of poverty, AIDS, Orphans and starvation. There is a lot of word besides the US and most of us do not think about or pray about these countries nearly enough.

The book below, Give the Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick, is the next book on my list!