You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, and I will exalt You. Give thanks to Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. – Psalm 118:28-29 (NiV)

Today’s gratitude is one of my favorite things, one that I’ve loved since I was a little girl, for as long as I can remember, one that I am offering up special thanksgiving for this season.

Today I am giving thanks for books, both reading and writing them.

Having been a lifelong reader and lover of books and words and writing, I dreamed of writing books of my own – and this year my first book, a devotional for spoonies – chronically ill people like me – was published by the Southern Christian Writer’s Conference.

It was my joy to write – and I am beyond grateful to see this dream come true.

I am working on my second book – a completely different sort of project – now. It is taking longer, both with research and because I have schoolwork to keep me busy, but I cannot wait to share it when it is finished.

God has been so so good to me.

Not only do I enjoy writing, I love to read. It’s one of my very favorite things.

I am so blessed that my dear husband has built some wonderful spaces in our home for my books.

 

Then, of course, there are the small collections, here, there, and everywhere, in our home.

Here are a few. . .

They live in tiny nooks and crannies all over. It brings me so much joy. ❤

As I was considering this post, I wanted to share with y’all ten books I love that I would recommend reading. It’s not my “official” top ten favorite books ever type list – doing that would take forever and hurt my brain to be sure – and still might not be possible to narrow down 😉 – but it is ten books that, for various reasons, I really love and hope you will too.

Ten of My Much Loved Reads to Maybe Check Out Over the Holidays ❤

1. The Ragamuffin Gospel – Brennan Manning

2. Beach Music – Pat Conroy

3. Love is a Mix Tape – Rob Sheffield

4. Wild – Cheryl Strayed

5. The Prophet – Kahlil Gibran

6. Kisses From Katie – Katie Davis

7. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

8. Choose Joy – Sara Frankl

9. The Fault in Our Stars – John Green

10. The Bright Hour – Nina Riggs

I am so grateful that God let us live in a world of books and cozy blankets and hot chocolate and twinkle lights and Christmas carols. I am beyond excited for Christmas break to read and write and sit by our tree and spend time with my precious family here in the Hippie Hut.

God is good all of the time. ❤

Lastly, I also collect children’s books:

So, I thought it would be fun to also list ten of our favorite children’s books, some from my childhood, one from my husband’s, and some I read to my children.

Ten of the Hippie Hut’s Favorite Children’s Books

1. The Little Prince

2. Goodnight Moon

3. The Poky Little Puppy (since I was a wee little one)

4. Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks (my husband’s favorite when he was a tiny)

5. Where The Wild Things Are

6. Winnie The Pooh

7. If You Give A Pig A Pancake

8. There’s A Monster At The End Of This Book

9. The Tale Of Three Trees

10. Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Proverbs 18:15 says, “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out (NIV).” 

It is such a gift that we have a whole world of learning and growth and knowledge available to us all the time. Thanks be to God. ❤

Our Thanksgiving Week Blessing:

Be well, everybody. Take care of yourselves and each other.

Grace and Blessings.