Guess what? I finished TWO books last week! I was so excited! š So I
thought I’d catch you up on some of my reading thoughts based on those two.
The first book
I finished was for work, and while it was a good book, as you’ll see in a
moment, I confess it is not the kind of book I would choose to read out of all
the books in the world. I am not typically a major “business book” fan, and
that’s what this is.
The book is
called Mission Drift by Peter Greer and Chris Horst. I read it together
with my team at work, and every week during our team meeting, we discussed a
chapter.
The book is
aimed at leaders of charities, churches, ministries, nonprofits, etc. Though it
comes with a distinct Christian perspective, it does offer principles that work
in business scenarios across the board.
It examines
real organizations from colleges to nonprofits and several businesses in
between, to see how their adherence to or drift from their original stated
mission affected their health over time. It was fascinating to see how some
truly evolved in what they had to offer without ever straying from their
original mission. Others became unrecognizable over time, because they left their original mission far behind.
If you own/run/lead
an organization – especially one based in ministry - this book has a ton of
helpful suggestions for how to stick to your mission and how to prioritize what
matters most to you. It offers some hard truths on how staying mission true can sometimes
mean losing people or funding that you feel you need. That is hard. But
if you want to stick to your mission, it might be necessary.
Since I don’t
run the organization, there were parts of this that didn’t apply to me in overseeing
how it’s done, but because I want to be a good team member within the
organization, it was really helpful to see the importance of holding true to the
mission. It was an interesting book with many real-life examples. It wasn't dry and textbook-y, which I appreciated!
The second book
I finished was a novel that I drank as quickly as I could. I found it at the
library and was so excited, because it was on my reading challenge list! It
completed the category of “An Author You Love.” Irene Hannon has been on my favorite
author list for many years, and one thing I love about her is how gifted she is
in writing suspense and, as Ryan calls it, “A Hallmark movie in a book.”
Several years ago, when I was reviewing books on a weekly basis,
Irene started writing a series called “Hope Harbor.” She originally intended it
to be a 3-4 book series, but it is one of her most loved series and I think it’s
10 books long now. I own the first 4 books, but around the time she wrote
the 5th book, life got crazy for me, and I got behind in reading.
So when I found book five in the library, I checked it out in a
hurry! (I’ll still have to end up buying it, so I have the complete series
eventually, but at least I got to read it now!)
The book is called Driftwood Bay. Even thought it had
been forever since I read in this series, I fell right back into the little
town of Hope Harbor and all its beloved residents. I recognized many of them
from the previous books and dove right into the story of the newest characters.
Jeannette Mason is somewhat new to town, and although she has
done a magnificent job of opening a successful tearoom and running a lavender
farm, she has been careful not to become too friendly with the people of the
town. She’s not unkind. She’s just protecting her heart, which has suffered entirely
too many losses in a short amount of time.
So she’s not thrilled when the new doctor moves into the house
next door. The previous occupant of the house had kept to himself and made it
easy for her to have all the privacy, but the new doctor’s puppy does not share
that sentiment. He likes to visit – often. (And by visit, I mean dig up
lavender plants.)
The puppy and the refugee family that has just moved into town
make it impossible for Jeannette to keep to herself in the way she prefers, but
they make it possible for her to consider healing after all.
I read this novel SO fast. It was so easy to get engrossed in
the story! I’m ready to find book six and jump into it, too!
So there you have it…my reading updates. I’m hoping to read a few
more books before the end of the year!
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