Since 2011, I’ve been keeping track of the books I read in an old notebook, listing books as I buy them and then using a date stamp to mark when I finish one of them. I have also finally started to keep track on Goodreads (you can follow me here).
As I read, I tend to pull out quotes I like and share them on Facebook (follow my author page here). A few friends have told me they appreciate my book recommendations so I thought I’d write a post about several books that have had a great impact on my life in the last year or so.
Other than the first two, they are in no particular order…
After the Bible, The Cure (by John Lynch) has been the biggest game-changer for me, especially as a long-time Christian who grew up in evangelical circles and became a pastor’s kid in my teens. A kind, older gentleman who was in my life for only a couple of months recommended it to me last November, not knowing the spiritual turmoil I was going through at the time, and God used it to open my eyes to the fact that I’d spent years trying to make Him (and everyone else around me) be pleased with me instead of trying to please Him. Every page of this book made me feel less alone, less hopeless, less lost. My relationship with God did a 180 turn and I’ve been going through a transformation I had begun to despair I’d ever experience.
The Rabbi’s Heartbeat by Brennan Manning – I’ve read this little book three times in the last couple of years. The second time was in one sitting, a few weeks before I read The Cure. I wept and wept as it touched a deep place inside, a place that found it hard to believe God truly loved me. It helped me better understand the kind of intimacy I could experience with God. Another game-changer.
Your Future Self Will Thank You by Drew Dyck – If you struggle with self-discipline and self-control and feel frustrated by failed attempts to form new habits, read this. It’s full of biblical wisdom and practical tips, woven with humour and backed up with brain science. It helped me shift the way I approach self-control and I’ve started to see good progress with my goals!
The Sensible Shoes series by Sharon Garlough Brown – These books read like novels but are packed, packed, packed with insights and encouragement about the journey of spiritual transformation we go through as we submit our lives to Jesus Christ. I was especially touched by the character Hannah as her story mirrored mine in some ways. (Fun fact: I got my ears pierced in January because of her!)
Influence by Kate Motaung and Shannon Popkin – Every Christian who is a writer or speaker or “influencer” of some sort needs to read this little book. The authors help make sense of the condundrum we all face: How do I market my work without making it all about me instead of God? Insightful and inspired.
Free to Lean by Jocelyn Green – I’ve read all eight of Jocelyn’s fantastic historical fiction books but this little non-fiction number is my favourite. It’s a breath of fresh air for those of us who feel weighed down by the pressure to be everything and do everything. Stop. Read this book.
Other books I highly recommend:
Your Beautiful Purpose by Susie Larson
Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
Lies Women Believe by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth
Sex and the Single Girl by Juli Slattery
Me, Myself and Bob by Phil Vischer
The Minister’s Wife by Karen Stiller
The Art of Work by Jeff Goins
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