So Many Books - So Little Time

This page is for my geeky side that likes to read a minimum of 3 books at once and I want to invite you to join the process. What are you reading and why?

"Tell me what you read and I'll tell you who you are" is true enough, but I'd know you better if you told me what you reread.  ~François Mauriac

Some of the greatest lessons I have learned are in the pages of those who are smarter than I.  I can't tell you what books mean to me or how God has used them in my life.


Maybe it's because as I read others story's I know God is writing mine.  And the few temporary struggles I go through here on earth are only the beginning. 

But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world all their adventures in Narnia had been the cover and the title page; now at last they were beginning the real story.
- C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

What books are you reading now that are helping you write your title page? What is adding sentences in the story God is writing for your life?

 I've just finished or am currently reading:

The Resolution for Women.- Patricia Shirer. I'm just begining this one, but am looking forward to it with much anticiaption. Courageous the Movie, had a huge impact on my life when I saw it in preview last fall durning my time at Focus on the Family. I met these guys. They are real and their walk is real - so I can't wait to see how else the Lord will use them!

Kisses from Katie - Katie Davis. Ouch.I read, and cried, and prayed. God broke my heart as I read this book. Here is a girl living as sold out as I hope to one day. A middle class American girl just like me who choose to take the teachings of the Bible seriously. Read it. My description will only do it injustice.

Not a Fan - Kyle Ideman. Fan or Follower? Do we like the convenience and the "feel good" of knowing Jesus or are we willing to risk everything to follow Him? To know Him? This book is a great (and painful?) read in between the "God you Can Know" and "Radical". It's one of many books that has been getting me into the best trouble I've ever been in this fall!

The God You Can Know - Dan Dehaan. I am blown away by this book!We have so much head knowledge of God - but do we really know Him?What does it mean and look like to really KNOW God? It means everything. This one book everyone needs to read!

Let Me be a Woman - Elisabeth Elliot. - In short letters to her daughter who is getting ready to be married Elisabeth shares with her key lessons for what it means to be a woman. And what that role and identity looks like in the various seasons of life. "In order to learn what it means to be a woman, we must first start with the One who made her"

Radical Together - David Platt  the companion guide or sequel to Radical - is a great "how to" book. Where as Radical addressed a lot of mindsets and concepts, Radical together explores how to live them out.

Passion and Purity - Elisabeth Elliot.  I first read this book as a teenager and liked it. Re reading it as a 20 something I LOVED it. In talking with young women it seems that the number one thing most of us struggle with is surrendering our love lives (or lack there of) to the Lord. Passion and Purity is all about giving God the control. It's a must read!

Radical - David Platt. To be honest - I was scared to read this book. And I should have been, but not for the reasons that I was. As I started reading Radical I was scared it was just going to be another Christian hype book. You know what I mean, the kind every Christian reads but then nothing happens. Nothing changes. Yes, Radical has become a 'popular' Christian book but God is using it. Used it tremendously in my life. Be scared to read it because you will change. You will be convicted and change and growth aren't always easy - but they are always worth it!  It's a book about taking your faith back from the entitlement mentality of modern day. What does it mean to really "make disciples of all nations'?

Single Men are Like Waffles, Single Women are like Spaghetti  - Lets face it. Guys and girls just don't think on the same wave length! Neither one way or the other is better, they are just different. This book has been an excellent help to me learning to appreciate not only the way guys think, but also the way God made me to think. He actually made us to complement each other. Go figure! This book is an easy but simple and helpful read for all ages and seasons of life!

Cost of Discipleship - Just starting this one. Attended a church service recently where the Preacher chose Bonhoeffer to use as an illustration for a false teacher. I'm still on a low simmer from it but as I have not read Cost of Discipleship yet, I am trying to withhold judgment and see for myself what he says. :)

The God Who Pursues. - Never thought of God's holiness as something that pursues us, but Murphey puts it in a way that makes sense and has opened my eyes to a new but biblical way of perceiving my Lord.  

My Utmost For His Highest - My favorite way to end the day and fall asleep "chewing" on his classic thoughts. The Lord has used this book to tremendously to impact my life over the years. 

One Thousand Gifts - Ann Voskamp  I'm learning "Is".

 What Are We Waiting For? Dannah Gresh  I'm learning to "Yada" my Lord and how to express to my students the reasons behind choosing purity. 

Culture of Honor - This is and was a dangerous book. Only read it if you want to be challenged to think outside of the box when it comes to sin, leadership, and the way we handle it in churches. You will get angry, weep, and run towards sin - not away from dealing with it.
 

Soul Print - Learning to know and use our identity in Christ. Love Mark Batterson! This is his newest book and I loved it.

Holy Discontent - The Lord used this book tremendously in my life to give me direction after coming home from Focus on the Family. Each of us has a Holy Discontent whether we know it or not. The question is what we do with it! This book is one of the main reasons I am still in NY.

Way of the Shepherd - Best book I have ever read on leadership. It's written in more of a story form but the emphasis on "knowing the state of your herd"  has changed the way I approach leadership! A must read for anyone in leadership positions.

I'll keep updating this page as I finish these books and start others. Interested in discussing books or have suggestions on good ones to read? Email me!