Coming off more than a year in pandemic mode I feel like we are all deserving of a fantastic tropical vacation. However, regardless of your summer plans, hopefully you will find time to dive into a good book, whether it be next to a beach, a pool or a toddler sprinkler! With that in mind, I have compiled a list of a few of my favorite fiction and nonfiction picks to help you mentally recharge, restore, and relax.

God wants us to tell our stories to others, and not just the parts that make us feel good. In fact, God is invested in writing our stories so that the bad parts highlight His goodness and mercy. In other words, the bad parts are the best parts! From Israel recounting the times they were forgiven and restored, to Jesus sending the sinful and the sick back to their communities with deliverance on their lips—our God desires that we take our true stories and give them away to others so that they can see what He’s like and what He can do. 

Every fall, with the first crunch of leaves, I cannot resist welcoming the season with a few autumnal favorites. Here is what I recommend, reading, watching and baking.

We are so excited for the opportunity to host a Collective Workshop with a Dive Collective member. Emily LeVault is part of our community and is teaching Lettering Basics beginning next week, and we wanted to dig a bit deeper with her and her love for both teaching and the art of lettering—we decided to ask her a few questions.

For me, one of the greatest simple pleasures of summer is enjoying a light yet captivating beach read. These are the cotton-candy books that are quick and easy. While they may lack the intellectual density of a literary tome, I passionately stand in defense of the importance of a beach read. These books help us shutter our minds, to block out the rigors and demands of daily life and have a brief respite and mental vacation. What I’m looking for in a good beach read is to be transported to a different world where the endings are always satisfying and the characters are quick to come alive off the page.

I started college as a political science major eager to make an impact on the world through politics or law. However, that quickly changed during my first literature course thanks to a passionate professor who taught me that books are more than simply words on a page. Great literature does not merely entertain, it can change hearts, develop imaginative empathy in readers, and give a much needed voice to the marginalized and oppressed. After the heartbreaking events of the past two weeks, I struggle to find the correct way to create and hold space for hurting black communities across our nation. This is not my story to narrate and control, yet how do I show love and support and DO BETTER? The following books have helped to better educate both my mind and my heart and inform my subsequent actions.

Tracy’s experience gave her a heart for other families aching over the loss of a child, and God has taken those gifts He created in her—the drive of her competitive spirit—and has multiplied them, using her to provide comfort and hope all over the world. Emma’s has become a community of dedicated volunteer parents, family members, and friends who have experienced a pregnancy or infant loss—each one of whom has healed from the trauma of loss better and faster thanks to the support of a friend, caregiver, or mentor who has “been there.”