What's on Your Nightstand - May

I have to confess I have been WAITING for this week to roll around because it gives me an easy post and because I love to ramble about books. Unfortunately, this week finds me incredibly busy with cooking 5 nights of meals for Vacation Bible School. No Little time to read, no time to blog. So I'll make it brief, and next week I'll be buzzing around to everyone else's blogs to get some more good book ideas.

So, what's on my nightstand, er...spread around my house, right now.

1. Boys Should Be Boys, 7 Secrets to Raising Healthy Sons by Meg Meeker. This is the same author who wrote Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters which I haven't read because, well, I have boys! Glorious, wonderful boys who are about to drive me crazy this morning. But as I work my way through this book I am coming to a greater appreciation for what it means to be a boy and how they tick. Which is great when they are doing things that make no sense to me and is helping me to learn when to back off and when to steer them in a constructive direction. I checked this one out from the library, but I have a feeling I will be buying it soon and referring to it over and over in the years to come.

2. Who Do I Talk To? (A Yada Yada House of Hope novel) I love Neta Jackson. I loved her Yada Yada prayer group series because it gave me a window into what it might be like to be part of a group of women reaching across social and cultural divides to really lift eachother up in prayer. I'm having a little harder time with the House of Hope series, which takes up where the first series left off. I think it is because I don't get that sense of mountain moving prayer that was woven through the first books. Where the first books inspired me to be bolder in my prayer life, this one is leaving me a bit flat. Still, I'm almost done with it. If you haven't read any of Neta Jackson's books I recommend starting with the Yada Yada Prayer group series first.

3. The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson. I haven't started this one yet, but I read Embrace Me and was enthralled by such a different voice in Christian fiction. Her characters aren't the typical beautiful people, they can be abrasive, sometimes hard to like. But there is a depth that grabbed me and kept me going to the unpredictable, unformulaic end. I am hoping for more of the same with this book.

4. The Oasis Guide to Asperger Syndrome. This is THE go-to book for anyone dealing with a child on the spectrum. It is written for parents, by parents who just happen to also be medical professionals and as such is very easy to understand. I've found myself reading something and having little light bulbs click on in my head as I think about something Gates has done recently. Highly recommended if you have, or suspect you may have, a child with an Asperger's diagnosis.

5, 6, 7 and 8. Better Homes and Gardens Decorating. Color Your Home Beautiful. Waverly At Home with Color. Debbie Travis' Facelift Solutions to Revitalize Your Home. Yes, I'm in the midst of attempting to redecorate! After picking paint colors several times only to hate them a month later (luckily BEFORE any paint was bought) I think I've finally found the key. If, like me, your interior decorator gene is missing or malfunctioning I highly recommend checking out a stack of books from the library and doing some reading and browsing. From the Debbie Travis book I learned that I first needed to pick a MOOD and THEN a color. Wow. Suddenly it became so much easier. I can't wait to get painting in a few weeks. In fact, there'll probably be before and after pictures on the blog...

So, that is what's on my nightstand this month. How about you?