Resources for living intentionally

Are you ready to quit the hustle to measure up and stop living in fear of what other people think, so you can pursue your God-given calling in your own quirky, unique way? Find encouragement and inspiration in my Quietly Unconventional Manifesto.

I’ve compiled a list of resources I’ve found particularly helpful or inspiring as I continue my quietly unconventional journey. I hope they may help you as well.

Books

• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. I’ve read many books about the topic of introversion, but this is the classic.
• Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo. The title of this book has become one of my favorite mantras. You can read more thoughts about it in this post.
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck. Developing a growth mindset is instead of a fixed mindset is critical if we want to grow in any area of life. This book shows how a growth mindset affects us in many different arenas of life. Every parent and teacher should read this book.
• The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile
• Blessed are the Misfits: Great News for Believers who are Introverts, Spiritual Strugglers, or Just Feel Like They’re Missing Something by Brant Hansen.
• Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking by Jon Acuff. This metaphor of soundtracks in our head is a wonderful way to think about the messages we listen to inside our heads both helpful and unhelpful). This book helps us to improve our mental playlist, and inspired this post.
• Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith. This eye-opening book taught me a lot about the many types of rest we need to be whole, and that renewing our body and soul is often active rather than passive. Read my thoughts on rest in this post.

Podcasts

I have only recently begun investigating the world of podcasts, but here are a few I have found helpful.

• The Enneagram Journey with Suzanne Stabile, the “Enneagram Godmother.” Learn more about the enneagram, why people act like they do, and pick up priceless nuggets of wisdom.
• Typology with Ian Cron. Discussions with a wide variety of noteworthy people about life through the lens of the enneagram.
• Today’s Heartlift with Janell Rardon. Listen to conversations with authors and mental health experts about how to become healthier in the mental and emotional areas of life.

Resources for Book Lovers

Trying to find a great book to read? These resources might help.

Shepherd.com: This innovative website asks authors, experts, and creators share their favorite books on a given themes or topic. The brief blurbs for each book focus on why the list maker loved it rather than a typical review. Here’s my Shepherd.com entry for best female sleuths from centuries past. And here’s my list of the best historical mystery series with a touch of humor.

Historical Fiction Unpacked podcast with Alison Treat. Listen in to her conversations with historical fiction authors about their work. They unpack how the medium of story draws us in, ignites our curiosity, and informs us about the past, so that we can better live in the present. You can listen to our discussion of Death and a Crocodile here.

The Christian Historical Fiction podcast with Liz Tolsma. A weekly podcast featuring author chats, industry news, and discussions of what you’re reading. Liz talks about everything from Biblical fiction through the Vietnam era. 

What Should I Read Next? podcast with Anne Bogel. On this entertaining and inspiring podcast, Anne plays book matchmaker, discussing a reader’s literary preferences and then suggesting several titles. Filled with great books you might want to add to your TBR list.

Resources for writers

A few of my favorite books and websites that have helped me on my writing journey

Books

• The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman
• Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron
• Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author’s Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development by K. M. Weiland

Websites

• Author Media Thomas Umstattd, Jr. is a wealth of information on all things related to book marketing and promotion.
• Almost an Author. Learn Craft + Launch Career. A blog for writers, by writers, on a wide variety of topics. I write a column on this site entitled The Intentional Writer.
• Reedsy This site offers many great resources, from book reviews and writing advice to author services.

Podcasts

• The Novel Marketing Podcast with Thomas Umstattd, Jr. Expert advice on everything you can think to ask, plus more you hadn’t yet thought of.

Resources for history buffs

• My Roman Food page has information about my attempts at Roman cooking, along with other food-related information

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