It’s hard to believe it is summer. I’m a little over a week away from my summer preaching break and excited for some downtime with Katie and the Reich 5, to play, take some naps, explore and read some good books and have some slow days.

So, to help you with your summer travels here is my Friday Five:

Favorite book:

I recently read Tyler Reagin’s book The Life-Giving Leader: Learning to Lead from Your Truest Self. I mentioned Tyler in another Friday Five from a podcast interview I had with him. One of the things I enjoyed the most about this book is the parts about listening to your body, understanding what is happening inside of you while working and in relationships. 

I always have a novel going while I read leadership or ministry books, and I just finished Steve Berry’s new one, The Malta Exchange. I love books that involve church history (even if some of it isn’t accurate), I find it fascinating and this book, along with the series, was fantastic.

Favorite podcast:

I love all of Jim  Collins’ books, and when I saw that Tim Ferriss interviewed him, I was so excited, and this podcast episode did not disappoint. So much leadership wisdom packed into it.

The most recent Craig Groeschel leadership podcast on energy management might be his best episode yet. I love this idea and have found it to be right on in my life. This episode is a great listen for any leader (or parent) on how to know when you should do what in your life.

Favorite blog posts:

I’ve been doing a lot of reading on life stages and what happens at each life stage for a man, and it has been incredibly helpful. Helpful to see where I’ve been, where I am, and where I am going. The art of manliness had a great blog post that went with this in terms of anticipation in our lives.