I love to read. There were times growing up when my family would go to the library and I would take a box and fill it to the brim with books. And would read them all within two days! Trouble was, within those two days I wouldn’t do anything else so there were several times
when Mom and Dad told me I wasn’t allowed to read for a few days. Yep, I was one of those kids…
That was years ago but I still enjoy reading. When leaving for the race I wondered how I was going to go a year without books until a friend mentioned getting an e-reader. Great idea! Then another friend blessed me by giving me a Nook! So I’ve still been able to keep up with the reading while I’ve been gone.
Out of the books I read this year, these are my 5 favorite and a bit about each of them. I recommend these if anyone’s looking for some good ones.
Compelled by Love by Heidi Baker
This is the story of Heidi Baker and her husband Rolland, who have given up everything to serve the Lord in Africa, Asia, and England. It tells numerous stories of healing, preaching the Word, raising the dead, ministering to the poor and sick, prophesying, and living by faith alone. Their passion for the Lord is evident by the way they live. The book walks the reader through the beatitudes in Matthew 5 and gives examples of how the Baker’s live and how we can also live according to these teachings of Jesus. The main point is that our hearts should be compelled by love and nothing else. Love is always enough. We are transformed by Christ’s love and that is how we transform the world around us.
I really liked this book because at the time I read it, we were a couple months into the World Race and it was a good reminder to me of our reason for being here: to share Christ’s love with everyone we meet.
Forgotten God by Francis Chan
Francis Chan brings to light in this book about how often we as believers forget about the Holy Spirit. The Trinity of Father, Son, Holy Spirit are all equal but the Spirit is often forgotten about or placed in a back seat in our lives. He reminds us of what the Bible says about the Spirit and His role in our lives. Chan talks about how if we really recognized the Spirit at work we’d be astonished and our lives would be drastically different. He encourages all of us to take a look at what the Spirit is doing and how we can be more aware of what He’s saying to us and the ways He’s leading us.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
A non-fiction book about the story of Olympic runner, WWII soldier and POW, Louie Zamperini. It covers the story of Louie’s life, from the time he was a young boy, to training for the Olympics, to entering the army, and surviving as a POW. Throughout his whole life his determination and perseverance is evident in everything he did. The things he endured and survived through would have broken so many people’s will to live but Louie remained unbroken by it all. I enjoy reading stories about people who lived during periods in history because I can learn more about those historical times from a person who experienced it.
Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere
A call for the daughters of God to rise up and be all that God created them to be. Bevere likens each of us to a lioness. Throughout the book, she uses the picture of a lioness to describe how every daughter of the Most High can embrace her strength, develop courage, and change her world. Like a lioness full of grace and confidence we are to rise up to what God has called us to be. Click here to check out my blog about the book.
Radical by David Platt
I’m sure many of you have heard about and read this book. I got it for Christmas in 2010 and was convicted by many things Platt wrote about.
He challenges us as believers to consider what it truly means to be a disciple of Christ and examine our lives to see if we are living like that. He talks about how we have manipulated the Gospel to fit our comfortable lifestyles and asks what would change if we truly lived our lives like Jesus calls us to. The disciples left everything- their money, homes, families, lifestyles, comforts, security -to follow Jesus. What would our lives look like if we lived out the Gospel?
One of the reasons I liked this book was because Platt doesn’t just lay out the problem and leave it at that. He gives practical examples of how we can change our lives to reflect the Gospel.
What are some of your favorite books you’ve read in 2011?
What are you planning on reading in 2012?
