Hello Friends,

Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that another year has ended and a new one has begun. This is officially my last “monthly reads” post for 2021. I will be doing something new this year (which I will be sharing about in just a couple weeks!).

Because of our busy Christmas season, I did not do as much reading this past month. However, I did complete a really big reading goal this past month!

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December Reads: What I’m Reading Month by Month

My KJV Creative Bible

This was my really big goal – I finished reading through the Bible this year! When I finished reading through my Bible, I realized that it was the last book I needed to complete my yearly reading goal of 52 books! So, basically two big goals were completed at the same time. This felt like such a huge accomplishment, as I’ve always struggled when reading through the Bible. The process definitely changed me as a person and helped me realize that reading the Word of God isn’t nearly as complicated as we make it sometimes. A little bit of discipline can go a long way! (And yes, there were times when I fell way behind and had a lot of catch up reading to do!).

Reading the Word of God can truly change a person. I may not have understood everything I read (especially in the Old Testament) but the Bible is a powerful book and the very process of reading through each book has a big impact on me!

I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads – of course! 😉

A Tale of Two Hearts by Michelle Griep

I was looking for a light and enjoyable Christmas story, so I gave this one a try. Aspects of the story were a little cheesy (and there was some content that I wasn’t a huge fan of: talk about “ale”, some dishonesty, etc.). However, in the end, it was exactly the light-hearted and enjoyable “Christmas tale” of was looking for over the Holidays! The story kept me turning the pages and it all ended well.

I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads.

The Look by Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth

I was given this little booklet on modesty for Christmas (it was on my wishlist) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book is not long at all, and Nancy brought out some great points on modesty that I had never considered before. It was definitely a thoughtful and well done book on modesty. I would highly recommend it and will likely reference in again in the future.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads.

(P.S. If you’re looking for more books on modesty, be sure to check out this list as well as my Radiant Modesty E-Book!).

To Train up a Child by Michael and Debi Pearl

This is probably the most controversial book I’ve read all year. Last week, I shared a photo of some books I received for Christmas (this one included) and I received several messages warning me about this book. “So and so has gone to jail because they followed the teachings in this book!” “The Pearls are abusive!” “Children have died because of this book!” etc. etc.

I will admit, I was very trepidatious about reading this book after hearing so many negative things from so many different people (reading the reviews online is quite intimidating too!). I was half expecting to pick up this book only to discover that the Pearls encourage parents to abuse their children.

After reading this book over the past week and discussing various aspects with my husband I have found that that is simply not the case. All those well-intended messages were not telling me the whole story either (I have since looked up and read various articles online to get the bigger picture).

The whole controversy surrounding this book comes down to this: does the Bible teach parents to lovingly use “the rod” when training their children?  Yes or no? You will or will not like this book depending on what you believe the Bible has to say about “the rod”.

Do the Pearl’s teach or encourage parents to abuse their children? Absolutely NOT! In fact, they repeatedly warn against abusing your children or spanking in anger. They also share steps to take in order to confront and report an abusive parent. They repeatedly remind the reader that “love and respect” are of utmost importance in child training!

Now, could a parent misinterpret and misconstrue the guidance given in this book? Absolutely! And therein lies the problem. Those who have abused their children and then cited this book are not actually following the true teachings in this book at all!

If a parent follows the teachings in this book in the spirit that it’s given, they will not become abusive parents worthy of jail time.

With that being said, I do not agree with everything in this book and the Pearls are far from being my favorite authors (we disagree on various practical and doctrinal points and yes, they can be extreme and a little “unconventional”). However, this is not a “manual for abuse” as some people seem to think. Please read the book yourself (in its entirety) before slinging mud at the author’s or this book’s intent.

In the end, I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

My 2022 Book List and Reading Goal

This year I put together a smaller book list for myself – I usually deviate so far away from my book lists because I find new books that catch my attention! I’ve moved some books from previous year onto my list and added a few books I want to read for a second (or third!) time.

You can view my 2022 book list right here.

As for reading goals, I’m shooting for the same goal this year as last: 52 books. Let’s hope I can reach my goal and (possibly) surpass it again!

Do you have a reading goal for 2022? I would love to hear about it!

Final Thoughts

Wow! It has been such a great reading year! This was the first year (in several years) that I actually met and surpassed my reading goal. My goal for this year was 52 books and I ended up reading 55. Posting these “monthly reads” updates really motivated me to keep reading so that I would have some good books to share with all of you! I’m excited to see what good books are in store for me in 2022!

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out my previous posts in this series:

• January Reads
• February Reads
• March Reads
• April Reads
• May Reads
• June Reads
• July Reads
• August Reads
• September Reads
• October Reads
• November Reads

Happy Reading, Friends!