It's Time to Read!

Hi, book clubbers! We are so excited to share this month's book club picks! For the month of August, we are being intentional about cherishing faithfulness, and our verse for August comes from Psalm 37:

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness." Psalm 37:3

In the world that we live in, there can be a lot of pressure to live up to others expectations of ourselves. It can be easy to fall into the trap of striving to define our identity and self worth based off of our goals and accomplishments. Our society is driven by questions such as “who are you and what do you want to do with your life?”

This culture of striving can produce a lot of fear and anxiety.

Scripture reminds us to “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”(Psalm 37:4-5)

The Paris 2024 Olympics concluded this month, and in light of the Olympic games we wanted to highlight a few autobiographies of Gold winning athletes who live out their faith while being under pressure to strive to be the best .

Here are a few book recommendations that you'll want to add to your reading list!

For Adult Readers: Far Beyond Gold - Running from Fear to Faith by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

"He takes pleasure in us doing what we were made for. And win, lose, or draw, to run the race well is to glorify him." - Sydney McLaughlin- Levrone

In Far Beyond Gold: Running From Fear To Faith, Sydney reflects on her career and her personal relationship with God. Sydney was always known as “the fastest girl” and she often saw herself exclusively that way. But striving to live up to her identity as a winner produced a lot of fear and constant anxiety. It wasn’t until Sydney developed a personal relationship with God and rooted her identity in Jesus Christ, that she discovered the joy and awe of living without fear and living with the freedom that comes with following a loving and faithful Savior.

"On the track, I glorified God by running with all my mind and body. I honored him when I gave every scrap of energy I had to the task at hand. Because this was the gift God gave me to use, and by using it to the best of my ability and humbly redirecting the attention to him, he would be glorified." pg. 134

True freedom is found in the Lord and throughout her autobiography Sydney reminds readers that faith is always more powerful than fear. God has everything in his hands and when we trust in his plan for our lives and abide in him, we have nothing to fear. The Lord is faithful.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

For Young Readers: Courage To Soar by Simone Biles

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6).

In Courage To Soar, Simone Biles reflects on her journey to becoming a gold winning medalist at her first Olympic games in Rio. It may be easy to look at Simone and think that her journey to the Olympics was a piece of cake, but this wasn't the case. There were a lot of obstacles that Simone faced from a young age. From growing up in foster care, to being the smallest one around, and even losing a spot on the National Gymnastics team in 2011, Simone had to rely on her faith to carry her through a lot of ups and downs. Battling shame, doubt, and fear, Simone learned to trust God and understand that the Lord never makes a mistake.

"My parents, Ron and Nellie, have always taught me that the first step to making dreams real is to ask for God's guidance."-Simone Biles

It was beyond her wildest dreams to win her first gold medal at the Rio Olympics and the night she held the American flag at the closing ceremony, Simone knew that every challenge and sacrifice she ever faced made her stronger, more determined and courageous.

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May we all remember to give God all the glory. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." (Ephesians 3:20)