Relentless Pursuit

Hello!

Welcome to my blog. Today, I’m going to be sharing some of my favorite reads from 2022. Many of these books I had to read for my educational career, however, I would highly recommend reading them outside of the academic setting as well. Some are infused with the integration of psychology and theology, while others solely focus on psychology, and some mainly on theology itself.

Uncommon Ground – Timothy Keller & John Inazu

Uncommon Grace illuminates how to interact with others in a world where every individual you come across – in the grocery store, at school, and in the same neighborhood as you thinks and lives drastically different. This book brings together a variety of different known leaders and artists to discuss their personal story in life and how they have one common thread between them all: Jesus. Despite the pain that individuals such as Lecrae, Sara Groves, and Warren Kinghorn have gone through they all find uncommon ground within their stories to edify others.

Feeling Great – Dr. David Burns

Feeling Great by Dr. Burns is a large, but very helpful book that highlights five different sections in relation to helping with mental health struggles. The first section discussing turning depressive thoughts and anxious feelings into joy. He talks about several different clients he has had over the years and varying different stories to help illustrate how helpful some of the techniques he has used have become. Throughout the other sections, Dr. Barns discusses figuring out how to identify and crush distorted thoughts, unpacking the “four great deaths of the self”,

The Family – Jack O. Balswick & Judith K. Balswick

This book is a great resource in understanding family dynamics specifically in the context of a biblical worldview, while incorporating therapeutic techniques and tools throughout the text. It utilizes the family-systems throes alongside understanding family relationships from a theological foundation. Some of the chapters include: styles of instrumental parenting, styles of conflict management, an analysis of family power, as well as a discussion about how gender and sexuality form identity within the family life.

What Works with Teens – Britt H. Rathbone & Jude B. Baron

At one point in our lives, we were all or we will all become teenagers. Adolescents are in desperate need not only for adult mentors, but leaders who care about them and want to see them grow in positive and healthy ways. This book, What Works with Teens focuses on a variety of different attributes that are needed from others to work with teenagers in an effective way. Some of those characteristics include respect, authenticity, predicability, acceptance, and kindness. As someone who has worked with teens for many years, and hope to work with them for many years to come in a volunteer capacity as well as in a professional environment, I highly recommend reading this book.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank

Earth shattering, heart breaking, and the inevitability of the darkness that consumes this world is illustrated in Anne Frank’s diary. This book was one that I had to read as part of a human development course that I took, as it demonstrated the importance of development within the pre-teen and teenage years. The impact of trauma on a young individual’s brain can be so severe and traumatizing that it is extremely hard to heal from. Anne Frank’s story is soaked with trauma and experiences that many of us will never face, yet, she gives us a glimmer of hope throughout her writings in that despite what is going on around us in the moment, we can look for that future light in what is to come.