Currently on the Nightstand
Grace Bomb: The Surprising Impact of Loving Your Neighbors by Patrick Linnell
Full disclosure, Patrick is a previous pastor at my church, so I’m bound to love this book because I love his family. BUT… this book provides a tangible way for the saved to interact with the rest of the world in an intentional non-creepy sort of way. He has a way of helping you understand your own faith walk and then what you’re supposed to do with it. The book is like a conversation and is easy to read, but more important easy to apply.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
The cover is beautiful and makes me want to dive in head-first. This beautiful book was a gift from a friend who knows my desire to write with an impact.
Books
Hannah’s Gift: Lessons from a Life Fully Lived by Maria Housden
This book was published in 2003, and I read it shortly thereafter. The essence that has stayed with me for nearly 20 years is, make the decision you have to, at the time it needs to be made with the information that you have at that time. The author Maria is someone I would love to sit and have coffee with, the death of her daughter taken too soon from cancer is an unimaginable grief, but she finds a way back to peace. If you pick up the book, be prepared to cry, but also be prepared to be changed.
A simple picture book with minimal words to remind ourselves that our hearts are a living part of us, sometimes open, sometimes closes, sometimes in pain, and sometimes in joy.
Christians in the Age of Outrage: How to Bring Our Best When the World Is at Its Worst by Ed Stetzer
2020 left me wondering how to navigate the current space of life, politics, and religion. Ed delivered with some gut-wrenching reminders. In nearly all social media platforms there are unlimited invitations to a fight with every few flicks of the thumb to scroll the pages. No one is going to win an argument thru social media, and I questioned if my witness was being tarnished by engaging in this useless banter online. Ed deconstructs the cause, the lies and provides a suggested response to the chaos. Released during COVID he could never know how much this book was needed, but God knew and I’m so glad it found its way into my hands.
Bibles & Supportive Commentaries
I’ve become an accidental collector of purple bibles; my husband and I joke about it. If it’s a purple bible, it’s mine. Any other bible is his, and since he’s in seminary we have quite a selection. What’s strange is that we use the English Standard Version at our church, which I don’t actually own. Oh well, I use my iPad mostly with OneNote for notes.
Our Daily Bread Devotional Bible NLT – Tyndale
Christian Standard Bible Rainbow Study Bible – Holman Bible Publishers
NIV, NKJV, NLT, The Message, Contemporary Comparative Parallel Bible – Zondervan
What a fun book to look at the verses of the bible laid out in
With the Word: The Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Handbook by Warren w. Wiersbe
This is an easy-to-follow helpful guide to unpacking the bible. It’s a good place to start but if you’re looking for something deep you might find this a bit shallow. However, the author is fantastic!