Also, we’re snowbirding in Florida, so apologies in advance if it looks like I moved to a tropical island. It’s only temporary.
If I could package this sunshine and send it through the screen to you, I would.
Since I can’t… how about some fun book recommendations instead?
Before we dive in, tell me: what’s the best book you’ve read this year so far? I’m always looking to add to my TBR pile.
This might be my favorite part of writing these emails—getting to tell you what’s been stacked on my nightstand lately.
But now I’m curious: what’s your favorite part of this Bookshelf letter? I’d love to know. :)
Anyway, here’s a round-up of what I’ve been reading this past month:
Have you seen this one making the rounds on the internet? I actually had an early copy of From Genesis to Junia by Preston Sprinkle, but since my husband had Preston as a professor in college, I was going to let him read it first. But after three separate people insisted I should read it, I figured it wasn’t coincidence, and I slyly took it back for some light poolside reading.
Preston honestly explores the biblical texts on women in church leadership. I’m only four chapters in, but already I appreciate his gracious and humble tone, his deep commitment to what the Bible really says, and his even-handed approach to both complementarian and egalitarian interpretations of key passages. He treats Scripture with the authority it deserves as the Word of God, and presents differing views with respect, but is unafraid to point out when an argument is thin or forced.
In many ways, Preston and I have been on the same journey these last years, studying the same passages, reading the same books, wrestling with the same questions—and I find this invigorating! God’s Spirit clearly wants to communicate a message to His people in this generation.
Here’s how he explains his approach:
My goal here is to provide an honest evaluation of the biblical arguments—I’ll leave the application questions to other scholars, and to readers like you.1
My heart leapt when I read those words. Here’s an honest scholar surveying the theological groundwork, freeing me to offer some humble applications in my forthcoming book.
Here’s one more quote:
After paying closer attention to the text, I noticed something remarkable. The Gospel writers don’t just include women as disciples of Jesus. Rather, they highlight women as exceptional disciples who emulated the kind of radical obedience Jesus expected, often in contrast to the faithlessness of men—especially the twelve apostles. Over and over, women exhibited the very discipleship traits that male disciples failed to embody.2
I can’t stop thinking about that. Watch for this in your next readings, how the writers intentionally highlight women’s faith, courage, and obedience. It’s beautiful.
In our homeschooling this season, we’re listening to Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis since we’d been roadtripping toward the ocean and it just seemed fitting. I’ve been particularly struck by Eustace’s story of conversion from dragon to boy again. The beauty of it brought tears to my eyes.
Lewis understood something profound about repentance: we cannot peel off the dragon skin ourselves, which feels especially appropriate this season of Lent:
So I started scratching myself and my scales began coming off all over the place… But just as I was going to put my feet into the water I looked down and saw that they were all hard and rough and wrinkled and scaly just as they had been before...
Then the lion said—but I don’t know if it spoke—“You will have to let me undress you.” I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it. The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. […]
Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off—just as I thought I’d done it myself the other three times, only they hadn’t hurt—and there it was lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker, and darker, and more knobbly-looking than the others had been. And there was I as smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been. Then he caught hold of me—I didn’t like that much for I was very tender underneath now that I’d no skin on—and threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm.
And then I saw why. I’d turned into a boy again.
What a beautiful picture of being de-scaled, cleansed, and transformed into the new creation that Christ Jesus makes us (2 Corinthians 5:17). I don’t know how deeply this scene affected my children, but I was wiping tears from my eyes. Such is the power of good writing.
We’ve also been using the Marine Biology science unit study from The Good and the Beautiful this semester. Knowing that we’d visit several beaches and aquariums, I picked literature and a homeschooling science unit that would pair facts with field trips, and it has been absolutely delightful—both for them and for me. (Let me know if you’d be interested in a post all about how I curate book lists and curriculum for our homeschooling road trips. I’d love to share more!)3
At one point, my seven-year-old said, “How can God be so creative to make so many different ocean creatures?”
How indeed.
May we never lose the wonder of a child.
Shifting gears toward fiction—Last summer I attended a Christian fantasy writers’ conference and learned of a new genre: LitRPG, or literary role-playing game. I shook my head. We don’t need plots driven by video game mechanics, I thought. How does that even work?
But last month a writing friend of mine told me she’s writing a LitRPG series. There’s a whole generation that grew up on video games and is now discovering reading, and they’re famished for good books. When I asked for an intro to this new genre, she pointed me to All the Skills by Honour Rae.
I’ve listened to Book 1 and 2 and enjoyed them more than I thought I would. The protagonist is a young man who needs to collect cards to become a dragon rider to fight off the scourge that’s trying to destroy all that’s good in the world. Along the way, he learns important lessons about friendship, hard work, family, and the fight of good vs evil. (Note that this is written as YA, but there’s some mild language, theft, and warfare against evil.) I can’t say this is faith-based, but it’s been a fun way to learn about this new-to-me genre. Read with discernment.
I’m still making my way through Redeeming Eden by Ingrid Faro, though this has taken a backseat to Genesis to Junia. I find myself recommending this book to people in real life conversations whenever the topic of my book comes up. Definitely still enjoying it.
I also picked up The Fight for Female by Lisa Bevere, an impassioned plea to stand for female sexuality and for God’s good design for women. This is my first book by the author, and I appreciate her years of ministry and her heart to see women in this generation embrace the dignity and honor of being created in God’s image. The exegesis is a bit thin and it feels more like a cry of alarm than a strategic battle plan. Overall I think it adds an older-sister perspective and is yet another messenger showing we need to be paying attention to this topic, and I appreciate Lisa Bevere for adding to the conversation.
I haven’t read this one yet, but our friends at Tyndale told me about this new book, and I’m excited to dig in! Collide is a powerful invitation to run—limping, weeping, doubting, hopeful—straight into the arms of Jesus who will meet you in your greatest hurts and there, bring about your greatest healing.
Giveaway ends Monday, 3/23/36, at noon CT! I’ll message the winner.
Curious how I choose what books to feature in this Bookshelf email? Read more about my reading and recommendation guidelines here.
Our camper table becomes a tiny officer each morning—my husband on one side, me on the other
I didn’t expect to get much writing done this month with all our traveling. But a few weeks ago, God made something clear to me: I can’t keep waiting and call it obedience.
It’s time to write.
So I said “yes” to writing a muddy draft.
I’ve been joining an 8am writing sprint and shooting for 500 words. Imagine my shock to see that I’d written over 18,000 words this past month! Not good words. But words that we can edit with time.
Thank You, Lord. And thank you to all who have been praying.
If you’ve felt stuck in your creativity or your own writing project, I offer this artist’s prayer of surrender. May it serve to open you up to God’s move within you:
Another unexpected joy of traveling this last month has been meeting writing friends in most of the towns we stopped in. It’s a unique perk of moving around every week, shooting off a text: “Hey, I’m in town next week. Want to meet up for coffee?”
My kids jokingly protest, “Mom, you know people everywhere!” But it’s been such an incredible part of their homeschool experience too—meeting numerous authors, a judge, a composer, an actress, a children’s book author, and more—they don’t realize yet what a special opportunity this is. Someday they’ll thank me… maybe. 😉
But here I thought I’d highlight a few authors (and of course, their books) that you might be interested in adding to your bookshelves. Because that’s what we’re all about here.
I could write a whole post about each of these dear people and their books, but that would make this letter longer than it already is. So I’m delighted to share with you:
Kelli Stuart, author of The Master Craftsman (a treasure-hunting adventure novel) (The Stuarts, the Raynors, and the Ciucius all got together for Greek fast-food, and C. S. Lewis might have been a central thread connecting these three authors and their spouses)
(Stacey and I met up for coffee on a Wednesday, and then she invited me to crash her Saturday lunch with Angie, which I gladly did. We split mexican fajitas and bonded over chips and salsa—and a shared love for Jesus, God’s Word, and the women of the church.)
I love each of these precious people so much. They’ve each poured into me through their writing, and meeting them at coffeeshops, at local restaurants, and even in their homes. I can’t wait for an eternity of chatting with all our favorite authors. Can you even imagine?
But since we love giving away books around here, I want to bless one of you with one of the books above. Maybe I can even get a signed copy if I ask my buddies nicely? :)
To enter, comment below: which book in this “Bookish Buddies TBR” section do you most want to read next? I’ll pick a winner by Monday, 3/23/36, at noon CT!
My dear friend Melissa has the most beautiful rainbow-color-coded bookshelves. Complete with a Belle-like bookshelf ladder! Isn’t it dreamy? 🤩
I tried once to organize my shelves by the color of the bookcovers, and I made it two shelves in before I broke out in a cold sweat and switched everything back to genre and author name. I was convinced I wouldn’t be able to find anything. But I like how it looks, so I left one single shelf rainbow-organized, and it makes me smile (and think of Melissa) every time I see it.
Tell me I’m not the only one who’s wrestled with bookshelf organization…
So grateful for our bookish community here. May you always remember that the Master Storyteller delights in the story He’s weaving in your life, even now.
Preston Sprinkle, From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Really Says about Women in Leadership (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2026), 17.
We studied early American history for our New England trip in 2024 and Native American history for our SW trip in 2025. I also curated literature for my own personal reading for both those trips.
I read Speak Up with Confidence as my assigned textbook reading in my college speaking class—and nearly twenty years later, I get to call the author a personal friend! Oh, the grace and kindness of God!
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