Aneissa's Book Club: Our 2024 Reading List
New Year, new us, and a new opportunity to better ourselves through the pleasure of reading! Here is the list of the twelve books we are indulging in this year. Please read along with us, and let us know what you’re reading in the comments!
January: The Power of Self-Discipline
- Peter Hollins
Complimentary for Audible users!
The Power of Self-Discipline is not a textbook on self-discipline, nor is it a gentle and drawn-out discussion. It is a toolbox to keep you in motion and in action towards your goals. It pulls no punches as it provides direct techniques to ensure that your actions match your intentions - a difficult task.
February: The Love Everybody Wants: What You’re Looking For is Already Yours -Madison Prewett Trout
Drawing from Scripture and stories from her own life, Madi invites us to embrace God’s unconditional love so we can love ourselves well—and never settle for less. The Love Everybody Wants empowers you to
• view relationships in whole, holy, and healthy ways
• rely on biblical strategies for healing when your heart is hurting
• overcome lies such as “I have to follow my heart and feelings above all else”
• understand that a life partner is meant to complement you, not complete you
• look to your future with joy—because you were made to love
March: With a Palm and a Willow: Reflections on a Journey From Grief to Grace -Rex D. Johnson
"At some point in life, things happen over which we grieve. We lose loved ones to everything from divorce to death. We lament the loss of everything from health to happiness. In our grief, we struggle to find the strength and courage necessary to find our way."
April Book of the Month:
Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership
-Gary L. McIntosh & Samuel D. Rima
April: Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: How to Become an Effective Leader by Confronting Potential Failures -Gary L. McIntosh & Samuel D. Rima
The Christian world has been rocked by the number of prominent leaders, in both church and parachurch organizations, who have been compromised by moral, ethical, and theological failures. This pace-setting volume addresses this alarming problem and offers Christian leaders valuable guidance in dealing with the inherent risks of their work.
Using biblical and current examples, the authors describe the characteristics of five types of leaders and the problems that are most likely to develop if their particular dysfunctions develop unrestrained. McIntosh and Rima offer a series of steps for leaders to consider so they can take control of their dark side and learn to harness its creative powers. This edition includes a new introduction, updated information throughout, a self-assessment tool, and other additional material. Includes endorsements from John Maxwell, Leighton Ford, Leith Anderson, and Rob Angel.
May: Hidden Potential -Adam Grant
#1 New Your Times Bestseller! Hidden Potential offers a new framework for raising aspirations and exceeding expectations. Adam Grant weaves together groundbreaking evidence, surprising insights, and vivid storytelling that takes us from the classroom to the boardroom, the playground to the Olympics, and underground to outer space. He shows that progress depends less on how hard you work than how well you learn. Growth is not about the genius you possess—it’s about the character you develop. Grant explores how to build the character skills and motivational structures to realize our own potential, and how to design systems that create opportunities for those who have been underrated and overlooked.
June: Winning the War in Your Mind -Craig Groshel
What you think shapes who you are. If your thoughts are out of control, your life will be as well. Both the Bible and modern science provide evidence that this is true. In this workbook, Craig goes deeper into the principles outlined in his book to reveal the strategies he has discovered that will change your mind and, by extension, your life for the long-term. Each lesson includes biblical exploration, reflection and application questions, and practical exercises to help you.
July: Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely -Lysa TerKeurst
Do you ever feel left out, lonely, or less than? Today, learn the secret of belonging which will help you keep rejections in perspective and be better equipped to foster healthy connections in your relationships.
In Uninvited, Lysa shares her own deeply personal experiences of rejection from the perceived judgment of the perfectly toned woman one elliptical over to the incredibly painful childhood abandonment by her father. She leans in to honestly examine the roots of rejection, as well as rejection's ability to poison relationships from the inside out, including our relationship with God. With biblical depth, gut honest vulnerability, and refreshing wit, Lysa will help you:
Stop feeling left out by believing that even when you are overlooked by others you are handpicked by God.
Change your tendency to either fall apart or control the actions of others by embracing God-honoring ways to process your hurt.
Know exactly what to pray for the next ten days to steady your soul and restore your confidence in the midst of rejection.
Overcome the two core fears that feed your insecurities by understanding the secret of belonging.
Uninvited reminds us we are destined for a love that can never be diminished, tarnished, shaken, or taken—a love that does not reject or uninvite.
August Book of the Month
At Your Best -Carey Nieuwhof
August: At Your Best: -Carey Neiuwhof
Influential podcast host and thought leader Carey Nieuwhof understands the challenges of constant pressure. After a season of burnout almost took him out, he discovered how to get time, energy, and priorities working in his favor. This approach freed up more than one thousand productive hours a year for him and can do the same for you.
September: Tea Time Discipleship: Sharing Faith One Cup at a Time -Sally Clarkson
With Teatime Discipleship, Sally invites you into her beautifully photographed home, pours you a steaming cup of tea, and shares the prayers, Scripture, stories, recipes, and traditions that are dear to her heart. You’ll experience the incredible gift of teatime as you take in eternal truths about God’s love and design while learning how you can use your own unique gifts to share with others the beauty of a life redeemed by Christ.
October: What to Say When You Talk to Yourself -Shad Helstetter
We talk to ourselves all of the time, usually without realizing it. And most of what we tell ourselves is negative, counterproductive, and damaging, preventing us from enjoying a fulfilled and successful life. But with Shad Helmsetter’s Five Levels of Self-Talk (Negative Acceptance, Recognition and Need to Change, Decision to Change, The Better You, and Universal Affirmation), you can take back control of your life via this accessible yet profound technique.
Now filled with new and updated information perfect for the twenty-first century psyche, you can learn how to talk to your self in new ways, and jump-start a dramatic improvement in all areas of your life. So stop telling your self you can’t, and turn no into a resounding yes with What to Say When You Talk to Your Self!
November: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference -Malcom Gladwell
The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.
December: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business Charles Duhigg
Named one of the best books of the year by The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times! In The Power of Habit, award-winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to the sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential. At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, being more productive, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. As Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.
