Category Archives: Book Lover

And the winner is … Catie of First Faint Gleam. Catie wins a free book from my 2013 list. Everyone give it up for Catie! Woohoo!

To all of you–thank you!  You delivered a fabulous virtual stack of book recommendations for me, may of which are now on my library holds list, Amazon wish list, and real-life nightstand. I had so much fun looking through all your choices, but it was difficult to narrow down! For now, here are the list of books I aim to read, although the chances are pretty good some will be tossed and others added as the year progresses. For now, here it is–my holds-list, wish-list, and nightstand stack!

Spiritual Life (knowing, loving, and following Jesus)

1. Jesus, the One and Only by Beth Moore

2. The Joy of the Gospel by Pope Francis

3. A Quest for More: Living for something bigger than you by Paul David Tripp

4. All In: You are one decision away from a totally different life by Mark Batterson

*Also in this category would be the BIBLE 😉 and many blessed commentaries I often visit.

Parenting

1. Grace-Based Parenting by Ted Kimmel (started but never finished this)

2. Bringing Up Girls: Practical advice and encouragement for those shaping the next generation of women by James Dobson (Had this on my nightstand for years–ugh. Must read!)

3. Loving Our Kids On Purpose: Making a heart-to-heart connection by Danny Silk

Marriage

1. Intimacy Ignited: Conversations couple to couple by Linda Dillow

2. Love and War: Find your way to something beautiful in your marriage by John & Stasi Eldredge

Current Issues/Topical

1. Orphan Justice: How to care for orphans beyond adopting by Johnny Carr

2. Platform: Get noticed in a noisy world by Michael Hyatt

3. Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking by Susan Cain

4. The Keys to Healing: A handbook for miracles by Etty Blaney

Memoir/Biography

1. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom (read ages ago, need to re-read)

3. Surprised by Oxford: A memoir by Carolyn Weber

2. Rena’s Promise: A story of sisters in Auschwitz by Gelissen, Rena Kornreich and Heather Dune Macadam

4. No Compromise: The life story of Keith Green by Melody Green

5. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (Pretty intimidated by the 624 pages of this bad boy, but I’ll give it a whirl!)

{Off to the library! Thanks for reading.}

It seems that every year my to-do list gets longer and my reading list gets shorter. *sigh* But I will not give up! Reading is my daily food for my soul. It’s my sustenance. I can feel the difference in my life when I have not had or taken time to read good books. I get irritable. I get writer’s block. I get dry spiritually. I need a steady diet of quality content or I shrivel up inside! And I firmly believe that readers are leaders. If we really want to change from the inside out–read good books. No twaddle allowed! These 15 fabulous books were my 2013 Best Reads:

1. The Well-Trained Mind: A guide to classical education at home. This book was one of the highlights of the year, no joke. Inspiring, thought-provoking, helpful, practical. Not saying it must be followed to the letter, but I’d recommend as a must-read for any parent, not just homeschoolers.

2. Touching Godliness (Only $2.99 on kindle). Not even going to talk about this one. Because you won’t want to read it. But you need to. 😉 You may have read about it here. 

3. I Told Me So. Man oh man oh man I enjoyed this book! Written by a professor of philosophy, it revels the myriad ways that we deceive ourselves often, daily, continually, sometimes even knowingly. Far from being a depressing downer, this book is inspiring and encouraging. He gives fascinating insights into human nature. In fact, it’s kind of creepy because you start detecting self-deception everywhere. Beware! It’s like tearing blinders off your eyes. Definitely worth reading. Enjoy!

4. Educating the Whole-Hearted Child. Another phenomenal read on educating our children. I actually keep this one on my nightstand and take it with me whenever I go on overnights anyway, because re-reading any of it gives me the instant encouragement, inspiration, or direction I need for homeschooling. It’s just a gift in every way. Love the clear, loving voice and wise counsel of the Clarksons.

5.Intimate Issues. Aye Yai Yai! This is another one you don’t want to read but need to. 😉 Really, really, really, really honest look at, well, intimate issues. I need to read it again but that’s TMI … moving on now!

6. Pursuing Justice. This is a clear, well-written, thought-provoking overview of biblical justice issues. I enjoy Wytsma’s voice and writing style. If you’ve never read any books on topics of biblical social justice, start here!

7. The Prodigal God. Well I love Tim Keller and that’s all there is to it. He writes with such clarity, succinctness, candor, and piercing conviction. This quick read is an overview of the scandalous gospel truth–that God went to extravagant lengths to rescue us, his lost and prideful children. His words swoop you straight in to the heart of God. Must read.

8. One Big Thing. This is a quick (really quick) read ($2.99 on kindle) written by a business man who helps companies focus their energies on what’s most important. He gives some great insights from his years of business experience, and gives thoughtful self-reflection questions to help you determine your life calling. This might be a great quick read to help you narrow your focus for 2014.

9. A Severe Mercy. Oh my. This is a ignore-your-family-for-hours-on-end-and-cry-yourself-into-a-massive-headache book. I love it. Adore it. It kindled love in my heart for Jeff like nothing else has. But I don’t think I can ever read it again because I cried so hard I couldn’t think straight. Read it. But not today. Get it and set it aside for a vacation or some time when you can crawl inside and get lost. And bring kleenex with you. Or a towel.

10. Boys Should Be Boys. If you have a son, get this book! Love it. Partly because I already agree with everything she says. (That’s always fun.) But also because she has decades of experience working with boys, and has solid evidence for her claims. She write with clarity, confidence, and hope. I’ll probably read this book again this year, it was such life-giving experience and inspiration for me raising Dutch.

11. Running For My Life. Ahhh! Another vacation book! Take this one on an airplane (although you will likely laugh and cry out loud so be forewarned). This follows the life of Lopez Lomong, Olympic runner who came from the killing fields of Sudan, a child-soldier kidnapped from his parents when he was 6. His story is NUTS. Absolutely nuts. I just kept laughing and crying, laughing and crying. Again, not one to read a chapter at a time, go away somewhere and devour it. (kindle version is only $2.99!)

12. Respect Dare. Ummmmm… Ok I admit I haven’t finished this yet! I’m such a lousy wife! I started it and then … well, then I stopped. My resolution is to finish it. The book is good, but it requires us doing something every day. Um… that’s difficult! Enough whining. I’ll finish it.

13. Bold Love. I haven’t finished this one yet either, but only because it’s a great slow read, a few pages at a time, then letting things sink in. I greatly enjoy Dan Allender’s writing, his humility and kingdom-mindset on life and relationships. He writes with decades of experience in professional counseling, and his insights into human relationships are spot on. Terribly convicting and encouraging all at once. Definitely recommend it if there’s anyone in your life you have a hard time loving. (That would be all of us.)

14. The Plan. I already wrote about this here, but this hands-down my favorite book on nutrition and health. Phenomenal. Worth buying and keeping on hand as a reference. Our copy sits on the kitchen counter.

15. Rees Howells, Intercessor. I re-read this because it’s just so good I might read it every year. It’s not a theological dissertation, it’s just a story. You may not agree with all of it, but you can’t deny the mind-blowing power of God at work in this man’s life. It brings me to my knees, literally. This is another book to read slowly because it’s so convicting sometimes you just have to put it down and pray.

My 2014 book list is still taking shape.  Will you help me? Many of my favorite reads have come from your recommendations, so:

Would you please help by sharing one or more of your all time favorite reads below?  We’ll randomly pick one commenter to win one FREE book off the list above.  Thanks so much for sharing, and for reading.

Doing a quick post today as tomorrow will be a special longer feature, linking up with a great blogger as part of a discipleship series. But I thought I’d give a quick update since I completely ditched my original summer reading list and discovered, instead, these fabulous reads which have colored my summer beautifully, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every page.  The last 2 are tucked in my bag to be read on our camping trip next week …

1. Touching Godliness by KP Yohannan. Must read. We talked about it here. 

2. Running for My Life  by Lopez Lomong. For the sheer enjoyment factor, I have not read a book this great in a long time. I laughed, cried, and wanted to completely neglect my family just to curl up and lose myself in its pages. So touching, fun, inspiring. Snag it.

3. Intimate Issues by Linda Dillow. Oh my word, wives: RUN, don’t walk, and get this book ASAP.

4. Respect Dare by Nina Roesner. A 40-day challenge. The woman’s version of Love Dare. 

5. Meyebela: My Bengali Girlhood by Taslima Nasrin.

5. Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis (I know I’m the last person on earth to read this; I was on the Hold List at the library for more than six months!)

{In case you have a few spare hours before fall is in full swing, pick up one of these and enjoy! Thanks for reading.}

Twice recently I’ve been asked about my “Faith Family-of-Origin.” Meaning this: Just as we have a biological family-of-origin that is largely responsible for any number of our habits and behaviors, so we also have a Faith family of origin. Church or ministry roots that shape our faith during critical developmental years. It’s been a fun exercise to look back and understand a bit about what makes us tick and why.

As I re-read Calm My Anxious Heart again I had a similar fun experience, something I hadn’t expected at all.

First, it was tremendously impacting to go back and read my hand-written notes from the 12-week Bible study in the back of the book. They were from 13 years ago when I was single, a Sophomore in college, living in a house of 8 RDGs. Oh how different my struggles were back then! Oh my.

It was a joy to read because of this: God has done SO MUCH. I truly was an anxious, insecure, comparing, compulsive person. I’m not angel now, but He has truly been victorious in profound ways in just over a dozen years. Although I recognized my hand-writing, and can now remember the battles, I had virtually forgotten they’d existed.

But what struck me the most was seeing now that the book had shaped me more than I’d ever realized. As I read I kept stopping, amazed, and thinking, “Wait. I say this exact same thing all the time.  I’ve taught this over and over. I didn’t realize it was from her.” I could see how Linda Dillow’s simple words had truly changed the course of my life. 

Lastly, I kept chuckling to myself as I’d read book after book that she referenced that I’ve since then read but had no idea or recollection that she’d mentioned them! That make sense? All the books she refers to I have since read and they’ve become pillars along my journey, but I had no remembrance of her mentioning them way back then!

All that to say that going back to read this book is like returning to my roots and see why I’m wired the way I am. Little ‘ol Linda Dillow’s words are like fingerprints all over me. And I’d totally forgotten.

The thought for you and me? What book or person radically influenced your faith-development in years gone by? It might be fun for you to go back and visit, or re-read, and chuckle a bit as you realize why you do what you do.

And secondly, never underestimate the power of your influence on another person’s life. Depending upon the soil of their heart, your words of truth, your life of faith, your example of love, might radically change the course of someone’s life without them really knowing it. I truly had not realized how profoundly Dillow’s words shaped me over the years. But God knew.

{Q: Who shaped you? And who might God want to shape through you? Thanks for taking time to reflect, and thanks reading…}

It was the first pink book I’d ever read. At 19 I still thought women’s books were either stuffy or silly. I didn’t like floral prints or calligraphy.

But I also didn’t like my anxious heart so I gave this one a try.

Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow proved to be hugely instrumental in the course of my life. Simple principles, taken to heart, steered my heart toward joy. I still call to mind, often, the 5-point manifesto of contentment from the first few pages of the book. I recently re-read them, smiling as I fingered the penned-in stars I’d written almost 13 years ago. The same points are just as important today:

• Never allow yourself to complain about anything — not even the weather.

• Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else.

• Never compare your lot with another’s.

• Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.

• Never dwell on tomorrow — remember that tomorrow is God’s, not ours.