Bits & Bites of Summer's Best Reads....

 
There is no city on this planet more beautiful, vibrant or electric than Chicago. Chicago is a massive playground in the summer. It's vacation for all of us. Farmers Markets - Lakefront - Sailing - Concerts - Festivals - Belmont Harbor - Navy Pier - Northerly Island - Beaches - Outdoor Cafes - Rooftop Gatherings -  - just endless daily activities and entertainment. Living here during the summer months feels like a complete dream come true. I hope you are all soaking in every last hour of every day because it goes by in a blink.

Today I wanted to share a few bits & bites! If you are new to Snapshots of Wellness, Bits & Bites is a frequent 'Friday' blog about a large variety of bits & bites of wellness/life/health. I share whatever comes to mind.

First & foremost, the number of fantastic books on the market continues to rise. I am eager to read a book by Jason Helveston, Tell Me Everything.

If you are unfamiliar with Jason or Jason's website, go here and learn more. I am going to do a mini-book club with some in Chicago to discuss Tell Me Everything! We can all order the book via Amazon on June 20th which is right around the corner. So after we order it, we can meet back here on SW and discuss a time to meet over coffee - a roundtable discussion if you will over how these pages brought life to our own stories. Sound good? And if you are wondering what the book is about, I encourage you to be resourceful and head over to watch the ah-mazing - trailer.

I recently read 'If' by Mark Batterson. This book really had me looking inward at how I am walking in faith and with God. I highly recommend 'If'. And this self evaluation led me to observing my speech and types of conversations I am having on the daily.

God says that we have the power of life or death in the tongue...in our words (Proverbs 18:21). We literally have the 'power' of 'life' or 'death' in our speech. I notice that I talk about my problems a tremendous amount. And I notice others do too. So I began scouring The Bible for every single instruction from God regarding my speech - hours upon hours of diving into His Word. And the conclusion I came to was that I need to communicate in a brand new way. NOW - not tomorrow or 'one day'. NOW. And I need accountability. I need to replace every single doubt, complaint, fear based communication with The Word of God. So, I organized massive accountability. And I am changing my language, re-framing my perspective and talking about joys vs. tribulations.

Have any of you read 'A Complaint Free World' by Will Bowen? I was just gifted the book. And if you have read it, tell me your thoughts via any of my social media outlets. Yesterday, I decided to do a 30 Day No Complaint Challenge with anyone on IG that wanted to join me. If you want to join in, well come on! Head over to my IG (link to your right). June 8th - July 8th, we are not sharing ONE complaint and not discussing problems of any sort. We are replacing all complaining and negativity with sharing joys, gratitude and speaking LIFE into our lives. It's a FREE challenge that can only benefit our speech. Are you in? I hope so.

My next blog will be a Q&A from my readers. I continue to be asked the same questions over and over. So, I thought I would answer with a short blog post! So, expect that shortly.

Enjoy this weekend. Get outdoors. Hug someone you love. Better yet, tell someone you love just how much you love them and why. And get out of your comfort zone. Have FUN!

I'll meet you back here next week. I appreciate you tuning in (grateful)!