My Top 10 Books of 2022

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  Don't worry, this won't cost you any extra!

I did it!

I set a reading challenge goal of 150 books on Goodreads at the beginning of 2022. 

At 10:45ish pm on December 31st, I finished reading my 186th book for the year. Normally, I would've been at our church's annual New Year's Eve game night with the rest of my family, but I was under the weather so I got to spend a peaceful (and kind of lonely) evening at home with the dog. 

In no particular order, here are my top ten favorite books that I read this year!

How to Bring Your Children to Christ and Keep Them There: Avoiding the Tragedy of False Conversion

by Ray Comfort

This book helped me initiate some really good conversations with my kids. Because of it, they have a much more clear picture of what true salvation really is. 

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Book Love

by Debbie Tung

I loved this book! (see what I did there? ;) It was a quick and easy read and so relatable. 

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Raising Them Up

by Israel Wayne

If you read just one parenting book in your lifetime, this is THE one! It's biblical, practical, and even has a section on parenting kids with special needs.

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A Light in the Darkness: Janusz Korczak, His Orphans, and the Holocaust

by Albert Marrin

I've heard the story of how Janusz Korczak took care of many Jewish orphans before and during the Holocaust and how he chose to go to the gas chambers with them, but had never read a book about him until now. This was a heartwarming and heartbreaking read. 

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The Unsaved Christian

by Dean Inserra

The scariest verse in the Bible is when Jesus says in Matthew 7:23: "And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'" There are so many people who call themselves Christians, but are not truly following Christ with all of their heart, soul, and mind (Mathew 22:36). This book was very helpful in explaining how to reach people with false assurance.

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Secrets of a Charmed Life

by Susan Meissner

I love anything by Susan Meissner and this book didn't disappoint! She keeps the reader on the edge of the seat through the whole book and they never end exactly how I thought they would. The characters seem so real that I feel like I'm right there with them through their struggles and joys. 

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Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible

by Danika Cooley

This book has so many good tips for helping your kids truly learn to love the Bible and to know what's in it! Highly recommend for all parents who want their children to love God.

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Saving Meghan

by D. J. Palmer

This was a heartwrenching read and one that hit a little too close to home. Parents of kids with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome are all too frequently accused of making their kids sick or faking their condition for attention because the disorder is so misunderstood by medical professionals and the general public.

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Nerdy, Shy, and Socially Inappropriate: A User Guide to the Asperger Life

by Cynthia Kim

This book was so relatable and had me going, "Wait, that's not just me?!?" on just about every page. Very informative and good to read!

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The Read-Aloud Family

by Sarah Mackenzie

I deeply regret not starting read-alouds with my kids when they were younger, but even at their ages now (14, 12, 10, and 8), they all still love listening to books. I usually read to them while they're eating supper (I eat later with Hubby when he gets home) and it makes for a very peaceful mealtime!

Did you set a reading goal for 2022? What were some of your favorite books that you've read over the last year?

Win a Signed Copy of "Yet Will I Praise Him!"

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  Don't worry, this won't cost you any extra!

Guess what? Today is my birthday! Normally, I don't get too excited about my birthday because being the center of attention just isn't my thing, but this year, I can't wait! This year, I'm doing something a little different that takes the focus off of me and puts it on you. Yup, you! 

For my birthday, I'm giving away five signed copies of my book, Yet Will I Praise Him. The giveaway will run from May 12 through May 31st on Goodreads. You can enter via the widget below or by clicking here. 

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Yet Will I Praise Him

by Hannah Wingert

Giveaway ends May 31, 2021.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

I would love it if you would share the giveaway with anyone you know who might benefit from the book as well! 

This post is linked up at the Friendship Friday Blog Hop.

You're Invited to Join My Book Launch Team!

 It's finally happening! It's been almost exactly two years since I wrote my book during NaNoWriMo 2018 (an annual writing challenge with participation from writers around the world) and a year since I announced that I signed a publishing contract with Ambassador International. 

Yet Will I Praise Him: Living and Parenting with a Chronic Illness will be released November 17, 2020 and I'm so excited to share it with you all! 

Book description:

Motherhood can often feel overwhelming and isolating, but for moms with a chronic illness, those feelings are often intensified. When your life is a constant battle with pain, fatigue, and isolation, it’s easy to lose sight of any joy in your life. 

Wife and mother Hannah Wingert knows this all too well. After finally being diagnosed with a chronic illness following the birth of her fourth child, Hannah has had to come to terms with her diagnosis and learn to be a wife and mother in the midst of her invisible illness. 

In her inspirational book, Yet Will I Praise Him, Hannah opens up candidly about her own struggles of living and parenting with a chronic illness. She will help you understand how to use your chronic illness to grow in your faith, balance your marriage and parenting, and live each day with hope so you can not only survive the challenges you face, but also thrive

Hannah covers everything from the tough questions such as “Why doesn’t God heal me?” to “Why doesn’t my husband ‘get it?’” She also provides savvy advice and practical tips she’s learned along her journey. 

Though Yet Will I Praise Him is written by a mom for moms, it also covers information such as how the five stages of grief work when you have a chronic illness and what not to say to a parent with a chronic illness, making it beneficial for anyone who has a loved one who lives with a chronic illness. 

So here's where you come into all of this...you're invited to join my book launch team! Here's what it entails:

+ Launch team members will help spread the word about Yet Will I Praise Him on social media and other places online. Specific tasks will be shared in the Facebook launch group to make it easy for you to do so.

Here's what you will receive:

+ You will receive free sneak peeks and chapter samples of the book.

+ Your name will be entered into a drawing (prizes will include canvas tote bags, mugs, t-shirts, autographed copies of the book, etc.) each time you complete a task.

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Join the book launch team for Yet Will I Praise Him: Living and Parenting with a Chronic Illness! Apply here: https://bit.ly/3k7wfeE

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Other details:

+ The launch will run from November 5-December 1.

Click on the button below and apply to join the team! We're going to have so much fun and I can't wait to see you there!

10+ Books for Kids of Chronically Ill Moms

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  Don't worry, this won't cost you any extra!

Having a parent with a chronic illness can be tough for kids. It can make them more resilient, empathetic, and independent, but it can also make them feel guilty, frustrated, and alone. Some ways to help kids deal with these feelings is to talk with them, answer their questions, and make sure they understand as much as is developmentally appropriate. For older kids, giving them a journal to write in can help. Reading books together about what they're dealing with can help as well.    

With that in mind, I've put together a list of children's books that you can read with your child to help them better understand your chronic illness and limitations.  

Ravyn's Doll: How to Explain Fibromyalgia to Your Child

by Melissa Swanson

"All the kids in class made paper dolls to show someone they love who is hurt or sick. When it's Ravyn's turn to share, she shows a paper doll of her mom — and it looks like there is nothing wrong!

Ravyn teaches the class that even though her mom looks healthy, she’s not! Ravyn’s mom suffers from fibromyalgia and its evil sidekicks. Ravyn's Doll is a simple and effective way to explain fibromyalgia to your child. In a way that is understandable to children. it shows that not all illnesses are visible and explains how living with an invisible illness affects families' daily lives."

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When Mommy is Sick

by Ferne Sherkin-Langer

"A distressed little girl expresses her feelings when her mother goes to the hospital. Time drags and the child thinks of her constantly. Her understanding father helps her to cross off the days until she can visit and takes her to the hospital. When her mother comes home, normal life happily resumes. The nature of the woman's illness is not specified, but she is hospitalized periodically, which would make the book appropriate for children whose parents require chemotherapy, for example, as well as being generally useful for any parental hospital stay."

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Big Tree is Sick

by Nathalie Slosse

"This beautifully illustrated storybook describes the anger and emotion that many children encounter when a close relative or friend is diagnosed with a long-term illness, such as cancer. The story of Big Tree depicts how things are often out of your control and sets out effective strategies for dealing with these emotions."

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Mommy's Going to the Hospital

by Josie Leon

"When Mommy is having health issues, finding a way to discuss it with a young toddler can be challenging. Mommy’s Going to the Hospital offers parents a way to start a discussion using clear language and illustrations that can help you and your family make a plan for the situations and emotions that may arise as Mommy journeys from diagnosis, through the healing process, and back to full health."

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Mommy Has to Stay in Bed

by Annette Rivlin-Gutman

"Mommy Has to Stay in Bed is for young children who are faced with the trauma of having a parent on bed rest. In this rhythmic and sensitive story, mother and daughter find ways to cope with feelings of frustration and boredom. Whether the parent is pregnant, has the flu, or is on long-term bed rest, Mommy Has to Stay in Bed brings the brighter side of spending time together in spite of a challenging situation."

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Feel Better Mommy

by Risa Kirschner

"Abby's mom has a boo boo, so her Nana takes her to the hospital to visit. Follow Abby's adventures as she finds a magical bed that moves, takes her teddy on a wheelchair ride, and learns that spending time with her mom can make a hospital feel like home. Based on the real experiences of the author's then two-year-old daughter, this sweet story teaches that hospitals are safe places for healing and that parents always love their children, even if they have to spend time away from home."

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Mommy Can't Dance

by Katie Carone

"Mommy used to do a lot of fun things with me, but now she can't. Now it's my turn to help mommy! It can be sad and confusing for both kids and moms when a mother is hurt or sick and can't do all the things she used to. This simple and sweet book helps children understand limitations. It shares ideas on how kids can help, as well as activities a mom and child can can still do together. It reminds children that they are loved, and the best thing they can do is show love in return."

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Why Does Mommy Hurt?

by Elizabeth M. Christy

"This is a delightful story told by a young boy learning to understand and cope with his mother's illness. The story creates natural opportunities for families to talk about both the symptoms of chronic illness, and how they affect family life. Even more importantly, the story puts power into the hands of the children. It also offers a helpful "Tips and Resources" section for parents!"

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How Many Marbles Do You Have?

by Melinda Malott

"A mom uses a brilliant jar-and-marble analogy to teach her son about her limitations related to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia. The book uses marbles, a toy all children are familiar with, as a measure of the mothers limited energy. Using a jar and some marbles, the author conveys difficult concepts in terms that children can understand."

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What Does Super Jonny do When Mom Gets Sick?

by Simone Colwill

"How do you support a child with a sick relative? How do you empower them (and their family) to help too? You’ll find the answer to these questions and more in “What Does Super Jonny Do When Mom Gets Sick?" Jonny is a little superhero with a BIG problem! His Mom is sick. How can he help? JOIN Jonny and Bear, as they go to the hospital to investigate."

Also see the versions of this book written for Crohn's Disease and Heart Disease.

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My Mom is Sick and It's Okay

by Angie McPherson

"Morgan's mom has multiple sclerosis or MS, for short. Sometimes she worries about her mom's illness. But she's found out over time, it might not be as scary as she thought. Join Morgan as she talks about what her family life is like living with a chronically ill parent. There is a resource guide at the back of the book if more information is needed on MS and family life."

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My Mom's a Spoonie: A Journal for Me

by Rachel Smith

"An interactive journal for kids with chronically ill moms. The spoon theory explained, coloring pages, random silly facts, pages for mom and child to do together, and more!"

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When Pete's Dad Got Sick

by Kathleen Long Bostrom

"A beautiful book telling the story of Pete, a boy whose dad used to run and swing him around, but now can hardly walk, much less play. Pete is hurt and angry and doesn't understand why this has happened. Pete's dad tells him that even though he can no longer run, he can still be Pete's father. The book includes two pages of suggestions for parents and others helping a child through loss of this kind."

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10+ Books for kids of Chronically Ill Moms: https://bit.ly/2Ft2qpb

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If you know of any other books, I'd love for you to share them in the comments!

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I Have a Secret...

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been neglecting my blog over the last year or so. There have been a few posts here and there, but nothing consistent like I used to do.

I had a good reason though, and I'm finally ready to tell you all about it!

Let's back this up to last November in 2018. I participated in NaNoWriMo which stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's a writing challenge during which writers from all over the world try to write a novel in 30 days. The goal is to make it to 50,000 words by November 30th.

Much to my shock and surprise, I actually did it.

I'm what is called a NaNoRebel which means that I cheated and didn't actually write a novel. Instead I wrote a non-fiction book about being a chronically ill mom from a faith-based perspective. I had wanted to read a book on that subject, but couldn't find any available. Naturally, the logical reaction was to write one myself.

After writing, I spent so much time editing my book over and over again that I started to hate it, but all that hard work paid off.

Last week, I signed a publishing contract for my book.

I don't have a date for publishing yet, but I'll keep you all updated as progress is made on the book.

In addition to writing a book, I've also made some changes to Sunshine and Spoons. I closed my three Facebook groups and opened up just one new one instead so I can focus my energy better. The new group is called Chronically Ill Moms Together in Christ, and, if you're a mom who is living with a chronic illness and would like support from other believers, I would love to see you there! 

10+ Books About Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  Don't worry, this won't cost you any extra!

When it comes to information on the Ehlers Danlos syndromes or EDS, the selections are pretty slim.  As the disorder is still classified as rare (although it's NOT rare, it's just rarely diagnosed), there just aren't a lot of books about it out there.  However, as awareness is increasing, the number of books has been slowly increasing as well.  I put together a list of the best books to learn more about living with and loving someone with one of the Ehlers Danlos syndromes.