Christian Shelves

I love hearing how others are able to squeeze reading into their days, so I thought I'd share a typical day for me. The picture is a teensy bit aspirational but the following snapshot is fairly reflective of an average day as I try to maintain reading habits in my life. When I first get up, I pray and spend some time in the NIV Chronological Study Bible . I discovered that there is a yearly reading plan included, though it is not broken up day by day when there are larger sections; this has actually been helpful as I can read along at my own pace and read a little bit more on the days that I have more time. All in all, there's a plan but it's given me enough flexibility that I'm ahead instead of feeling behind. After being in the Word, I read my devotional; right now, it's  A Shelter from the Storm . I like to try out different versions as I've gone through a lot of the classic ones, but there have been some years where I've repeated some really good devotio...

Since I'm not sharing Friday Reads any longer, I thought I'd share some of the books that have been formative in my Christian faith over the years, both fiction and non-fiction. I won't share reviews per se, just a short snippet of how it was beneficial to me. Because I haven't read some of these books in (many!) years, please feel free to check out more recent reviews. In this case, "I Believe": Exploring the Apostles' Creed by Alister McGrath was one of the first books I read that focused exclusively on the Apostles' Creed. It's a shorter book at 120 pages, so it's completely digestible. What was most memorable to me was that one of my theology classes always began by reciting this Creed, which brought these words to life as a reminder of what Christians agree on. This book was a great springboard into reading other works by Alister McGrath over the years. I'll see how long this Friday series lasts, but it's given me a good excuse to...

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day . It is a day to remember the victims of the Holocaust and an ever-present reminder of how much God's chosen people have suffered throughout their history. In light of that, The Letter  by April Barcalow was a fitting book for me to read for this upcoming Saturday. If you're interested in reading this as well, it is available for free to newsletter subscribers . Book Synopsis Set in Holland during World War II, “The Letter” tells the story of an unlikely friendship between two strangers, about love across enemy lines, and about finding the courage to shine brightly when the darkness closes in. Source: Author's Website Book Thoughts The Letter  may be novella-sized, but there is a deep richness that lies within its pages. This book is the perfect length as so much is covered within the story without sacrificing any content, pacing, or plot. Written in both narrative and epistolary styles, readers get to know Elly and Piet...

Update from September 2024 : I have since learnt information about the author and how he has discredited himself from serving in Christian ministry. This book was read, reviewed, and rated prior to knowing that information. I have since withdrawn my rating and am instead pointing readers to other available resources from Utah Lighthouse Ministry , Mormonism Research Ministry , and Utah Christian Research Center . If you've read  Unveiling Grace: The Story of How We Found Our Way Out of the Mormon Church  by Lynn K. Wilder, then Passport to Heaven: The True Story of a Zealous Mormon Missionary Who Discovers the Jesus He Never Knew by Micah Wilder is the perfect companion book as this is her son's story. Book Synopsis “You have a call, Elder Wilder.” When missionary Micah Wilder set his sights on bringing a Baptist congregation into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he had no idea that he was the one about to be changed. Yet when he finally came to know the ...

After reading a powerful post about what it means to write Christian fiction , I was intrigued by the premise of  Dear Daughter by Kassandra Garrison, along with the role that this book played in the author's life and writing. I am grateful to the author for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Book Synopsis Understanding her past may be the key to her future... When Olivia Larson finally escaped her childhood home and abusive mother, she never imagined she would have to relive the trauma of her past. Yet, after complications during childbirth, God sends Olivia on a journey back through her life. Desperately, she scrambles to hear God in the midst of her memories. With every moment she relives, Olivia draws closer to a life-changing realization, one that will forever alter how she loves herself, others, and God. Will it be too late for Olivia to get back to her family or will God give her another chance at life? Source:  Amazon Book Th...

I've always considered myself a pretty boring Christian and now that I'm online again, I can confirm that I am still very boring. By boring, I mean that I've typically been hesitant or suspicious about trends in general, even before I came to know the Lord. That's not to say that this is always a good thing, but in looking back over my life, I'm beyond grateful that God used my cautious nature to alert me to the notion that just because something is popular, it doesn't mean that it's necessarily good or right. As a result, I'm rarely the type to get on bandwagons. Where I think this suspicion has played out most has been in my Christian entertainment choices, funny enough. As I seldom consume secular entertainment, I suppose I'm already untrendy there. It's also not the focus of what I'll be writing about here as it doesn't play much of a part in my life. In thinking back to when I was a young Christian, I remember being excited about any...

I think I have to accept that I won't like every book that I read, and that it's difficult to know this beforehand unless I take the time to read reviews. Admittedly, I avoid doing this to some extent in order to stay away from spoilers (so yes, I obviously need to revisit this stance). I also want to be an encouragement as I recognize that authors are doing their best, but it sometimes doesn't land for all readers. With that in mind, I'm going to do what I can to minimize negative reviews and only share them on my blog as Goodreads can be fraught with a lot of interesting responses. Of course, these thoughts don't make it to social media as I don't want to heap criticism on others. While that takes care of that, it has made me increasingly apprehensive about posting my Friday Reads each week, bringing me back to the dilemma where what I read is not necessarily what I would endorse. In thinking through this, I realized I kept asking myself the following questio...

This is going to be my last Friday Reads. Why? When I first started sharing what I was reading, I would share four types of books: one Christian fiction, one Christian non-fiction, one non-Christian fiction, and one non-Christian non-fiction. That got to be a bit much as I do read widely and am sometimes all over the place. I then went down to just two titles, a Christian fiction book and a Christian non-fiction book. However, over the last several months, I have constantly run into issues where the books that I'm about to embark on end up riddled with questionable content. Should I do more research beforehand? Yes. Do I? Not always. Whether it's lack of time to read reviews, or I trust the person making the recommendation, or any other reason, I confess that I have not done as much due diligence as I could have. In real life, I come across duds and move on. Online, those mistakes linger and linger. I've stated before that what I'm reading is not always an endorsement; ...

I'm just trekking along with the  Heroes of Freedom Ridge  series! Believing the Hero marks the halfway point, so I'm getting there 😄 Honestly, these books are becoming a soap opera in my head where I'm familiar with most of the characters now and can revisit them throughout the year. What a fun series to get into where I can see what people are up to a little later in their life! Book Synopsis She’s been alone for years. Can this secret agent convince her to love again? Jan Clark lost her firefighter husband ten years ago. She fills her days running Stories and Scones and doting on her first grandchild. Finding someone new feels like betraying the husband she loved for decades, and the thought of tragically losing someone again is terrifying. But Pete O’Rourke is handsome, charming, and makes her feel young again—and what could be safer than an insurance agent? Pete moved back to Freedom, Colorado after 25 years as a CIA operative, not that anyone around here thinks he d...

Unveiling Grace: The Story of How We Found Our Way Out of the Mormon Church  is a book where the title pretty much says it all. Book Synopsis A gripping story of how an entire family, deeply enmeshed in Mormonism for thirty years, found their way out and found faith in Jesus Christ. For thirty years, Lynn Wilder, once a tenured faculty member at Brigham Young University, and her family lived in, loved, and promoted the Mormon Church. Then their son Micah, serving his Mormon mission in Florida, had a revelation: God knew him personally. God loved him. And the Mormon Church did not offer the true gospel. Micah's conversion to Christ put the family in a tailspin. They wondered, Have we believed the wrong thing for decades? If we leave Mormonism, what does this mean for our safety, jobs, and relationships? Is Christianity all that different from Mormonism anyway? As Lynn tells her story of abandoning the deception of Mormonism to receive God's grace, she gives a rare look into Morm...

I got to read Borrowed Sunshine before Christmas, and it has lingered in my mind ever since then as an excellent Christian book that points to Jesus Christ. For anyone seeking a book where God is clearly referenced and He guides the story, the Hilton Head Island series has become one of my favourites. For full disclosure, I was a beta reader for this book; however, all opinions are my own and were formed upon my initial reading. Book Synopsis I've always wanted people to like me… I craved their approval... Now, I am tangled in a mess, with no idea how to escape… Everything feels better at the beach... So, I steal away for a two-week vacation on Hilton Head Island… Except... he is here. I've always wanted to be alone… I've seen firsthand how cruelly life can snatch away those you love… I would rather stay alone than endure another loss… My plan is simple: Stay single and avoid making new friends… My plan was perfect… Except... she is here. Source:  Amazon Book Thoughts Base...

I recently saw some interesting charts regarding The Christy Award winners on LibraryThing  that stopped me in my tracks and had me wondering all sorts of things. First, I love that this type of data is being tracked as it's fascinating to see trends over time. Second, this is something that I never even noticed, but now that I'm aware, I can't help but think back over the past two decades of Christian books that I've read. What are these charts? They're the genders of the winners from 2000 until the present year, broken down by a 1-year view and a 5-year view. I should state that blue is female and red is male in this case. It didn't hit me until seeing this that I used to read a lot more male Christian fiction writers, whether it was  Randy Alcorn ,  Ted Dekker ,  Frank Perretti ,  Randy Singer ,  Travis Thrasher , or others. I feel like in the early aughts, I read a lot more suspense and thriller than I realized, and likely general fiction as well. I di...

Update:  So, I have thoughts on these picks. In retrospect, I should have done more research, but I figured that reading a sample and getting a recommendation from a friend would both help. (Surprise: It didn't and I ventured too far.) This week, I'm venturing out to some new territory and trying a few books thanks to Kara from the  Well Read Collective  and her Well Read Challenge. It's so fun that I get to try all these new book challenges and layer them with each other, especially after my two reads for the  Clearly Christian Readathon . The first one fits the debut category and is a book that I saw at my public library a while back where I only had the opportunity to read the first chapter. I now have an e-book version of it, so I look forward to getting back into it. The second is a recommendation from a friend in real life, which is pretty rare for me as I don't often talk about books with people 😄 It's an interesting memoir that she recently read, so I hope ...

Love Under Construction  was a book that I had the opportunity to finish during the holidays, and it was definitely an enjoyable follow-up to  Henry and Evaline ! I've heard so many people raving about Penny Zeller 's books, and though I haven't read her historical fiction yet, I'm now even more keen to read all of her titles. Book Synopsis She builds websites. He builds houses. Together, can they build a family for two orphans? Irelynn agreed two years ago to help raise her best friend’s twins should anything happen. When she is called upon to fulfill that agreement, there is only one problem—Irelynn must share the responsibility with the arrogant but handsome Quinton Gregory. Quinton takes the role of raising his niece and nephew with all seriousness. He will do anything for the twins, even if it means putting up with the beautiful but stubborn Irelynn Brady. When forced to be in each other’s presence far more often than is comfortable, things slowly begin to change. ...

For January, my selection for "whatever is true" from  Philippians 4:8  for the  Clearly Christian Readathon  is a book that might sound a little antithetical but actually speaks to the necessity of truth.  No Place for Truth: Or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? by David F. Wells was published in the early 1990s, yet remains just as relevant today. A fun fact I learnt after reading this book was that it, in turn, contributed to The Cambridge Declaration  and the formation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, so it's amazing to see how a book can generate a legacy in this manner. Book Synopsis Has something indeed happened to evangelical theology and to evangelical churches? According to David Wells, the evidence indicates that evangelical pastors have abandoned their traditional role as ministers of the Word to become therapists and "managers of the small enterprises we call churches." Along with their parishioners, they have abandoned gen...

I technically started this book at the end of December, but read the majority of it in January, so it counts as a January book, right? In any case, reading Positively, Penelope  by Pepper Basham was probably the best way to start a new year! I'm a firm believer that God's timing is impeccable as this book came at just the right time for me. It also met one of the prompts for the Clearly Christian Readathon from Galatians 5:22-23, where joy as a fruit of the Holy Spirit is exhibited throughout the book. Book Synopsis The world could do with a little more kindness and positivity and random acts of singing, don’t you think? Dear Reader, My name is Penelope, and while I may not be a real-life princess, I’ve been told I possess a certain fairy-tale heroine quality. I wield optimism as my weapon of choice, don amazing shoes and vintage hats whenever possible, and speak in musical references. All of which perfectly qualifies me to succeed in my new role as a marketing intern at the ...

This is a theme that isn't new if you've been following some of my musings over the past several months. You could even say this is the natural progression of taking this line of thinking to its conclusion. In evaluating which books to read, the refrain of Christian vs. clean has become so ingrained in my thinking that it's practically been on repeat for me. To be honest, I've never really held a view on Christian vs. clean books until the end of last year. Most of my reading since becoming a Christian has been all over the place, where I believed that acquiring knowledge, almost any knowledge, was worth it for the sake of becoming more learned. Being a voracious reader meant that I would consume most anything—especially if it was free as I didn't have a lot of books growing up (my parents preferred to take me to the library on a weekly basis as I would have cost them too much in books 😂). However, God has definitely been impressing upon me the conviction that I ca...