What's New at Cross Reference Library? Love Never Fails

Love Is - What would it take for someone to live out the Bible’s “Love Chapter” as literally as possible? In a radical attempt to shake up a life that felt unlivable, Kim Sorrelle set out on a yearlong experiment. Using 1 Corinthians 13 to the letter, Kim journeyed past her comfort zone into places and among people she never anticipated. From irritating employees to sexist short-term missionaries to a group of profoundly kind nuns, she shares her many unexpected encounters in a charming voice full of rueful self-reflection and comical commentary. But this is more than a social experiment. It’s an invitation to join Kim on her journey to understand the nuance and power of true love in action even as it fundamentally transforms your life. 

A Confident Mom -  As moms, we often doubt our ability to be the mom we want to be. Unpacking powerful lessons, biblical truths, and practical tools, bestselling author Renee Swope will help you take a deep breath of God’s grace and show you how to:

  • Exchange the exhaustion of constantly correcting your child’s bad habits with meaningful and creative ways to connect with their hearts.

  • Discover positive and encouraging daily practices that will help you notice and nurture your child’s character and unique God-given design.

  • Let go of performance-based living and learn how to pursue relationship-driven parenting.

Discover simple ways to give your child what they need most through the power of heart-centered and character-focused parenting. This book will transform your perspective of parenting and change the way you see yourself as a mom and as a child of God. 

SMART Love - What would happen if you applied the game-changing principles of emotional intelligence to your most important relationship? Smart Love is a system for understanding both your own and your spouse’s emotions, managing those emotions, and walking hand in hand through situations when emotions run high. Through personal inventories, you’ll discover where you are strong and where you need improvement, and each section includes practical action steps you and your spouse can take to implement what you’ve learned. 

In the month of February, the month of love, it only makes sense that we bring in new books about love! While we have a lot of Romance novels among our fiction books, some readers may wonder what some of those characters did wrong or what they did right in their relationships. Personally I do find myself wondering that same thing, being since misunderstandings are a famous source of conflict in most Romance novels. In SMART Love the authors David and Jan Stoop shine some light on how to more easily prevent those misunderstandings. Both being certified counselors, the Stoops dedicate their lives to helping married couples work through their conflicts. And with that experience, they decided to use this book to explain their acronym: 

Self-awareness of your emotions

Managing your emotions

Accountability to yourself, your spouse, and others

Reading the other person’s emotions

Together in the land of emotions

And together they explain how this method has helped them and how it works for so many other couples. So while SMART Love deals with the mental idea of love, Love Is explains love as it is presented in 1 Corinthians 13. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” Author Kim Sorrelle goes into why patience is good, why envy is one of the seven deadly sins, and even why kindness is always the best medicine. Finally, the other book I read was A Confident Mom, which comes from the perspective of a mom who was pretty discouraged while raising two rambunctious boys. She even had a day where she was ready to turn in her motherhood letter of resignation. But then she read a newspaper article where the purpose was to encourage parents to “look for the gold in their children instead of focusing on their faults.” After that, she prayed to the Lord asking for help in finding those good characteristics in her children. And sure enough, Renee threw away that letter of resignation and was able to strengthen the love she had for her sons as the gold inside their hearts had shone through. So come on down to the Cross Reference Library at KCMI and check out these love-stricken books.