When I was a little girl, there was nothing I loved more than curling up in a cozy chair with a good book.  I would read for hours and hours, reading while I ate, rode in the car, and did just about anything where I had a free hand.  I’m not reading as many novels as I used to, but I still love to sit down with my feet up, a cup of coffee in one hand, and a book in another.

Now, I read a lot more memoirs, self-help, and faith based books that make me think and reflect about my life, faith, and lots of other things.  This list below is five of the books I read that most challenged me, the books that had me laughing, crying, and coming back to them to read and underline again and again.

My Five Favorite Books Of 2015

1) Bittersweet – Shaunna Niequist

I love Shaunna Niequist’s easy, personal writing style and how openly she writes about marriage, parenting, and all the joys and griefs that come with them.  I cried several times reading this book about what it has looked like for her to find joy in the midst of the struggles of marriage, and her words reminded me over and over again that it’s okay for things to be hard.

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Like I’ve shared about many times on this blog, I am a perfectionist to my core.  I want to be perfect, do perfect, and be viewed as perfect in just about everything (you too?).  Christmas is no exception.  Since our first Christmas as a married couple, I’ve had to let go of some expectations about what Christmas “should” be like and embrace how it actually is, in all its sometimes magic-less, normal reality.

This year, we are saying no to lots of things in our attempt to choose our family and our hearts over busyness and people-pleasing (you can read more about how we’re overcoming busyness and learning to say no in this post).  And in this crazy season of parties, expectations, and lots and lots of “shoulds,” we’re saying no to the things I’m listing here.

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I’m about to break one of the biggest blogging rules I set for myself when I started blogging: Don’t post about anything political or controversial.

But can I be honest with you all? My heart has been breaking over all the states loudly claiming that they will no longer accept Syrian refugees in the wake of the horrific attacks in Paris.  And even though my platform on this blog is by no means huge, I want to use it to share about things I believe in, things that matter to me and to the world we live in.

Whatever faith tradition (or lack of faith tradition) you hold to be true, I can almost guarantee that somewhere in your belief system it emphasizes the value of human life: not just the value of people born here in the States who share our language and culture, but boys and girls and men and women everywhere.  And friends, the sweet brothers and sisters who share our humanity and our hearts are hurting.

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When I wrestle with shame and insecurity, it’s never just one simple negative thought that goes away on its own.  My mind starts spinning with the negative thoughts that I’m too much, too emotional, too needy, or not good enough.  The voices echo in my head until I start to feel like I’ll never measure up to my own expectations or the expectations of those around me, and the shame is overwhelming.

In college this was a huge struggle for me and I had several panic attacks in my freshman and sophomore year when the insecurities got overwhelming.  I felt trapped and hopeless to ever break free of the cycle.  How could I turn off those negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones? How could I cling to the truths I knew were true about myself when the lies that I’m too much or not good enough were so much easier to believe?

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When I jumped into the blogging world last spring, I read what seemed like hundreds of articles.  I researched everything from the technical parts of blogging to how to facilitate community on my blog itself and on social media.  In that early season I was so excited to start a blog and wanted to invest in my dreams for my online space and wanted to know every single thing I could do to help it grow.

Since then, I’ve struggled at times to find a good balance between being intentional to invest in my dreams for my blog while still pouring into my family and staying committed to my other responsibilities. Focusing on these six things has helped me to intentionally invest my time and energy on growing my little corner of the internet without getting burned out or overwhelmed, and I have seen lots of growth in my blogs readership and community as a result!

I’m sharing my favorite six tips for investing in your blog over on The Wetherills Say I Do. Head over there to read the rest of this post!