I am a voracious reader. Always have been. My personal goal is to read a book a week; usually I get 2-3 per month. Personal growth is a very important part of my life, and books are how I do that. All of these books have helped me to grow, both vertically and horizontally, and have enabled me to better "work out my salvation." I offer this for discussion, but also, hopefully, to spur you to think about this in your life. Enjoy.
Apart from Holy Scriptures....
ESSENTIALS
1. The Knowledge of the Holy (The Attributes of God) by A.W. Tozer. Quite simply, for me, the most important book I've ever read. EVERYTHING we think, we know, we think about, is measured against our perception of Who God is and What He is like. EVERYTHING. Best quote: "The most important thought you can think is the thought you think when you think about God."
2. Victory Over Darkness, by Neil T. Anderson. The Hizkid Corollary to Tozer is this: The second most important thought you can think is the thought you think when you think about....you. Second greatest commandment "...love your neighbor as yourself." If you don't love yourself correctly, it is impossible to fully and rightly love your neighbor. Therefore, Anderson. This work explains who we are in Christ. It details what He did for us, and how we need, desperately, to think about ourselves. This ISN'T some feel-good, self-image-builder, of a book. This is the Truth from God's Word.
3. Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis. Lewis did more to change how evangelicals thought about their faith than anyone in the 20th century. MC was my first experience with Lewis, and I've reread it at least half a dozen times. It gets better every time. His essays and poetry are especially worthy. He wrote an essay entitled "The Efficacy of Prayer" which to this day makes me marvel at his thought processes. Everything he wrote is powerful.
4. The Way Home, by Mary Pride. We knew Mrs. Pride's name through our homeschool beginnings. Her "Big Book of Home Learning" was our bible when we started. I saw this title on a friends bookcase, borrowed it, and our lives have never been the same. Although subtitled "My Return From Radical Feminism," and describing her journey from that darkness to faith, she, in one chapter, enabled God to speak to me and my wife. She described the modern thinking of romance and family; the way that the "culture of convenience" and the "culture of death" have invaded the church's thinking about family size, and then she exposited what Scripture outlines in that regard. This book was the catalyst for us to allow God to actually be Lord of the womb, too. (I may post on this....later.)
5. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. The title is often a punch line. People have used its premises and principles for manipulating others. It's been pushed aside by titles such as "Winning Through Intimidation." It's been dismissed as hopelessly outdated.
All wrong.
Have you ever read something Jesus said and wondered "how do you do that?" Especially when it dealt with playing well with others? For me, this book is still the most practical guide to actually implementing Jesus's principles of living in a peopled society. It laid out the "how to" of "Love your neighber as yourself," and "Do to others as you would have them do to you." There are actually skills you can learn to treat people better. And if we're really honest with ourselves, we know we want people to treat us well also. But you have to sow before you can reap. Luke 6:38 says "Give, and it will be given to you...." But it never defines the "it" in this passage. So, make the "it" treating people right, and you will reap a harvest of the same.
CONTENDERS
The Power of a Praying Husband, Stormie Omartian (Crucial to all husbands!)
Your Best Life Now, Joel Osteen
The Magic of Thinking Big, Dr David Schwartz
Seeds of Greatness, Denis Waitley
Purpose Filled Life, Rick Warren
Byways of Blessedness, James Allen
As A Man Thinketh, James Allen
Everything by John C. Maxwell
Grace, Charles Spurgeon
Morning and Evening, Charles Spurgeon
My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers
UNEXPECTED GEMS
Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig
The Four Minute Mile, Roger Bannister
Author Edmund Morris: Dutch (official Ronald Reagan Bio); The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Rex.
When Character Was King, Peggy Noonan (OK, I'm a Reagan fan. He was a Great Man.)
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, Jimmy Doolittle (autobiography)
The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe
Yeager, Chuck Yeager (autobiography)
...and I've probably forgotten to include hundreds of titles. It was fun reminiscing.
russ | 