I have always loved books. Growing up we didn’t have much money, but books from the library took me to faraway places. As a child, my favorite picture book was Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. He had such a way with words, and often made me laugh at the impracticality of it all. The first chapter book that I can recall reading was by Judy Blume, entitled, Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. My tastes slowly evolved as I approached my teen years, but even then, my tastes were rather eclectic. I enjoyed The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, but I devoured every book ever written by Mary Higgins Clark. In my high school years, I very much disliked anything written by Shakespeare. Perhaps my least favorite book during that time, however, was The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton.

I remain an avid reader. I almost always have multiple books I’m reading at the same time, sitting on my nightstand. I read novels occasionally during the summer, or when on vacation. For summer leisure, I’ve been reading the Sullivan Crisp trilogy by Nancy Rue and Stephen Arterburn. I’ve just finished the third in the series, Healing Sands. I tend to prefer to read nonfiction and just recently finished two nonfiction books: Running on Empty by Fil Anderson and The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan. I’m usually faithful to finish a book even if I don’t love it, but recently I just couldn’t finish the book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. It had a very new age bent and just didn’t live up to the hype. Conversely, a book that I felt did live up to all I had heard about it was Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen: How God Redeems Regret, Hurt, and Fear in the Making of Better Humans by Scott Sauls. In terms of a novel that very much lived up to its hype, I’d have to recommend Rooms by James L. Rubart. Very rarely do I re-read books unless they are EXCELLENT. One book that I re-read every January because it’s just that good is Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge.

With summer halfway over, I may not get to reading any more novels before the holidays, but when I do, I plan to read all four books in the Sensible Shoes series by Sharon Garlough Brown: Sensible Shoes: A Story About the Spiritual Journey, Barefoot: A Story of Surrendering to God, Two Steps Forward: A Story of Persevering in Hope, and An Extra Mile: A Story of Embracing God’s Call. I’m always reading nonfiction and have way more books in my “To Be Read” pile than I have time to read them. That being said, I’m looking forward to reading A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living by Alan Fadling, Tired of Trying by Ashley Morgan Jackson, and Think This, Not That by Dr. Josh Axe.

Just recently, my newest book released: Sacred Scars: Resting in God’s Promise That Your Past is Not Wasted. While this is a stand-alone book, it also is a natural sequel to my book that released the end of last summer: The Hem of His Garment: Reaching Out to God When Pain Overwhelms. The Hem of His Garment was about the physical, emotional, relational, financial, spiritual pain, grief and loss that we all endure at some point in our lives, and focused on how to hold onto our faith while we wait for God to heal. Sacred Scars picks up where The Hem of His Garment left off. We’ve all been through painful trials that have wounded us physically, emotionally, relationally, or spiritual. Sometimes are wounds are the result of the words or actions of others. Sometimes we do things which end up causing us painful wounds. And sometimes pain enters our life with no obvious person to blame. Frequently, however, these experiences cause us to feel embarrassed, ashamed, fearful, insecure, and even, at times unworthy of God’s love, grace, mercy, or forgiveness, and make us believe that our wounds disqualify us from service to God. But the healing process teaches us many things about ourselves and about God, and many of those lessons are shared between the pages of Sacred Scars. The essence of Sacred Scars is to help the reader identify how God takes our wounds, heals the pain, and replaces those wounds with beautiful redemptive sacred scars. Because God is good and faithful, he NEVER wastes our pain or our past.

Dr. Michelle Bengtson is a hope concierge! Her passion is to share hope and encouragement with others, whether as a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist, host of the award-winning podcast Your Hope Filled Perspective, or the author of several award-winning books including Hope Prevails, Breaking Anxiety’s Grip, and The Hem of His Garment. Her newest release is Sacred Scars: Resting in God’s Promise That Your Past is Not Wasted. She loves all things teal, spending time with friends and family, taking long walks, or sitting by quiet shores, and it’s a bonus when any of those are accompanied by sea salt caramel chocolate! You can find her and her hope-filled resources at DrMichelleB.com.

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