Page turners: New Year 2015

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

Take an autobiography, lessons in space travel and a motivational self-help book and squish them together and you get Chris Hadfield’s offering. The Canadian astronaut – who by the way attended the same high school as me – writes about how he made choices (starting at the age of 9) that would help him prepare for the off-chance he’d be chosen for the Canadian Space Agency. He explains about how astronauts prepare for actual space flight, and the determination/mindset that helps an astronaut make it through challenging and often unforeseen circumstances - like a random ammonia leak on the Space Station. Hadfield argues, with good reason, that many of these mental choices are applicable for everyone. Things like enjoying what you do, even if it’s not the end point yet, or playing out the worst-case-scenerio to be prepared for just about anything. He writes with humor and humility. I'm really enjoying this book.

Breaking Free

Okay, okay, so this isn’t really reading. But I want to count this Beth Moore DVD study series in this list, because it’s...Just. So. Good. I’ve been watching the hour-long sessions (I'm  at six out of eleven) on suggestion from a pastor at church. Moore unpacks lessons from the book of Isaiah with passion and clarity. God has really been speaking to me through these lessons about the habitual hang-ups that prevent me from living fully and joyfully.

The Urban List

Welcome to my guilty pleasure. I got into this website while traveling in Melbourne at the end of last year. It has fun, feature write-ups about different cafes, restaurants, shops, or things to do in major Australia cities. The site also features top five lists and the like in so many different categories; think best cafes, best milkshakes, best beauty shops or best ways to see a cheap theatre play. For all my non-Aussie friends, take a sneak peak at typical city culture in the Land Down Under.