Elijah the prophet hung out under a broom tree. Paul, John the Baptist, and even Jesus took to the wilderness when they needed to rest. My favorite restful practice is curling up with a good story, so over the Christmas holidays, I took a break from reviewing new books and simply followed my heart into some good fiction.
What do you do when rest becomes a needful priority?
If you’re looking for a good story, I’ve got three to recommend:
Through the Eyes of Grace
Debi Gray Walter
In a story arc based on her grandmother’s life, Debi Gray Walter invites readers to travel back in time to 1904 Oklahoma Territory. Over 100 years before the “me too” movement, Grace Kirwin was brutally attacked, and the consequences threatened to derail her life from its hopeful course.
So often, God’s guidance comes in the midst of our mundane faithfulness, and this was Grace’s story. Her life was full of hard work, and often her next step led into the unknown, yet I enjoyed every minute of this unfolding tale as reassurance that it’s always safe to trust God’s sovereign plan and to view our past and our future Through the Eyes of Grace.
That Hideous Strength
C.S. Lewis
I hadn’t picked up Lewis’s Space Trilogy for thirty years, and while I vividly recalled scenes from Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, the plot of That Hideous Strength unfolded for me as if it were a brand new book. In fact, I was on page 189 before I rediscovered the connection between this book and the first two!
Lewis has brilliantly woven a story around the warnings he issued in The Abolition of Man, for if we become a race of “men without chests,” there’s no end to the evil we’ll buy into. I was fascinated, too, by the connection to Lewis’s essay on the dangerous corrupting influence of our desire for “the inner ring.” With subtle wit and incisive wisdom, Lewis follows Mark Studdock’s absorption into the N.I.C.E. as readers witness “a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things.”
The Same Stuff as Stars
Katherine Paterson
Katherine Paterson writes with unusual insight about the inner workings of a young person’s motives and thoughts. In The Same Stuff as Stars, eleven-year-old Angel Morgan’s family is in constant upheaval, and the adults in her life only seem to make things worse. Having grown up in a dysfunctional home, I can attest to Paterson’s accuracy in portraying Angel’s frenzied attempts to bring order out of the chaos.
An unexpected friendship and a brand new interest in the beauty of the night sky introduce a spark of hope as she sorts through the multiple conflicts created when adults fail to act like adults and children are left to pick up the pieces.
I’d love to know what books are carrying you into 2025!
What do you read when you need to rest?
It’s always a blessing to talk books with friends!
Holding you in the light,
What do you read when you need to rest? If you’re looking for a good story, I’ve got three to recommend!
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I usually reach for some cozy fiction when I need to rest too! I like something that nice and sweet and light and generally centered around a family with strong ties.
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That sounds perfect!
It will be nice when New England temps get back into the positive numbers again!
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Thank you for sharing these books! With this cold weather, it may be time for a fiction read 🙂
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I agree 100%! If we have to stay snug inside, we can travel in our imaginations!
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I tend to look for fiction that is light heartfelt and sometimes humerus. I’ve been wanting to read some clean cozy mysteries, it seems when I’m browsing Kindle Unlimited there’s a lot of gore. I’m not really a mystery reader but I wanted to try it. If you have any ideas or suggestions for me I’d so appreciate it.
Visiting today from Joanne’s
xo
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Patricia Raybon is a believer who has written the Analee Spain series—so far 3 mysteries! I have only read the first one but it was great and I loved her characters.
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Thank you for your recommendations, Michele. The Katherine Paterson book sounds perfect for our eleven-year old granddaughter! I’m about ready to begin again the Mitford series by Jan Karon. No doubt you and many of your readers are already acquainted with her books; this will be my third time since first reading them in the ’90s. Though I remember some of the main story-lines, a lot of the details I forget in between. And she DOES include well-developed characters, interesting interactions and dilemmas, all set in a quaint little village of the North Carolina mountains. There’s humor woven in as well. These books are perfect for a cozy sit by the fire!
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I love Jan Karon’s work and would happily reread the Mitford series at any given moment!
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I love Alexander McCall Smith. His number one ladies detectives series is my favorite, but in 2024 I read all of his 44 Scotland St. series. Actually, I listened to them on audible. The narrator in this series is excellent. Sometimes if I have trouble sleeping, I’ll put one of the books on and drift happily away.
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That’s a great tip! Thanks for sharing the goodness!
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When I rest I like books that make me smile. Over Christmas I bought an old Erma Bombeck book! Thanks for sharing your list!
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When I rest I like books that make me smile. Over Christmas I bought an old Erma Bombeck book! Thanks for sharing your list!
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When I rest I like books that make me smile. Over Christmas I bought an old Erma Bombeck book! Thanks for sharing your list!
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I love Erma!
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I haven’t read those Lewis books. I’ll have to add them to my list. Sci fi and fantasy are some of my favorite kinds of books to read, and there don’t seem to be that many Christian fantasy. Speaking of fantasy, when I need to rest, I like to escape to a new world for a bit. I like so many Christian fiction genres, but fantasy helps me do that best. I agree with you. It’s so fun talking about books!
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Fantasy does for you what fiction does for me! Isn’t reading just the best gift?
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