LIFE

February Book Review

Today, is one of my favorite things to talk about! BOOKS! I am a reader. I love to read. SO, for one of my New Years Resolutions I said I wanted to start AND finish 2 books a month. Some of you may be giggling right now. Really, McKenzie, 2 books. YES. TWO. Thats literally all the time I have to devote to reading is enough to ACTUALLY finish 2 books a month. (Until summer, I have plenty of time then.) I have no trouble starting books. I struggle to finish because I am the crazy woman who reads like 5 books at a time.
Not this year, Satan. 2020 is the year to finish books.

I know for most of these books I AM WAY BEHIND THE TIMES. I hear you. Don’t yell. BUT for those humans like me, who simply have neglected to read these titles yet, I am here to share about them.

I LOVED each of these books, starting with….

Ughh, I mean RACHEL HOLLIS. She is BRILLIANT. She is witty, funny, and a believer in chasing goals. Honestly, THIS BOOK is the reason I started “The F Word”. Like so many others, I have a dream of building a life that I never have to look back on and regret not following my heart. However, fear is REAL, y’all. AND if we let it, it will get the best of us. Girl, Stop Apologizing helps you let go of the EXCUSES, embrace your dreams, stop apologizing for wanting more out of life, and just do the dang thing. READ IT. LOVE IT. CHASE YOUR DREAMS, SIS.

Next up, UNINVITED by Lysa Terkeurst. Sister, this book. It’s wonderful. You know when you walk by someone and you instantly feel like they HATE you. FOR NO REASON and you rack your brain as to WHY you are not good enough to be liked by this stranger? OR how about when you JUST know that you were made for something. OR someone. and BAM…. you weren’t given the promotion, or that person rejects you. Yeah, we have all been there. MAYBE you haven’t… lucky you. But for the other human beings that have been, this book is a must. Lysa walks you through how to handle rejection, loneliness, and when everyone around you looks like their life is going perfectly according to the plan and you are over here looking at your road map up and down and all around wondering WHERE IN THE WORLD did you get off track. Have a pen ready. You will want to take notes.

Okay, this is by far my most  FAVORITE BOOK I have ever read. It is the “sequel” to Uninvited. And while I know you may be wondering “how much can you read about rejection or life not going in your favor” GIRRRLLLL, let me tell you this book SHOOK ME TO MY CORE. I am note sure there is a blank space in the margins of my book. I read, I prayed, I took notes over every single word of this book. Lysa brings POWER. She spills the tea with grace and grit. She points us to scripture to cling to as we face devastation, whatever that may look like in your life. Unfortunately, life can look a lot different than the perfect picture we have painted in our heads. Disappointment comes when our exceptions envision one thing and reality is showing you the other but if there is one thing I learned from this book it’s that GOD is GOOD and GOD is GOOD at being GOD. When we try to set the path, we will easily be distracted by the enemy. We will make wrong choices OR refuse to let go of things that are keeping us from our calling from God. We are living the life in between two gardens.

I saw THIS BOOK as I was enjoying my Skinny Iced White Mocha skimming the aisles at the Target. In college, I took a class about War and Genocide and LOVED it. When I saw this book I knew it would be a quick read for me. I also knew that I have a trip planned for Spring Break to visit Auschwitz with The Amigas (these are my 2 college besties. I’ll explain more later) and I knew I needed to read this book before my trip. It’s graphic. It’s emotional. It’s redemptive. It’s a sweet love story. I highly recommend this book. Whether you are flying to Poland with your besties or sitting on your couch. Read it and then share it with a friend.

Okay, that’s 4. My goal was two a month and these really go from January and into February. Next month there may only be two. But I will try my hardest to finish more.

Leave a comment with book recommendations on here or message me on my Instagram: @mfortner_xo and I will be happy to read and share my thoughts.

XO-MF